HEYBURN, Idaho - Snake River flows below Milner Dam will increase beginning Tuesday June 10 to deliver water for salmon and steelhead downstream, in accordance with Reclamation’s commitments under the Endangered Species Act. These flows will continue down the river below Milner Dam and pass over Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls.
Releases from Milner Dam will begin June 10 and will increase gradually through June 11. Flows will hold steady once they reach 3,600 cfs late June 11. Schedules will be adjusted as arrangements are finalized; flows are expected to be maintained through July 6.
The water will be cold and fast, please use caution while recreating on or near the river.
Reclamation will supply 487,000 acre-feet in 2014 to comply with the NOAA Fisheries 2008 Upper Snake Biological Opinion. About 200,000 acre-feet of the total will be delivered through these releases from storage in Reclamation reservoirs upstream of Milner. The remainder will be provided through separate releases from reservoirs on downstream Snake River tributaries, and through natural flows.
Milner Dam is the downstream boundary of Idaho’s Water District 1. The majority of the water for the release is leased from the Water District 1 rental pool.
The dams operated by Reclamation’s Upper Snake Field Office are located on the Snake River and its tributaries upstream of Milner, Idaho. Palisades Dam is about 55 miles southeast of Idaho Falls, Idaho; American Falls Dam is near American Falls, Idaho; and Minidoka Dam is about 12 miles northeast of Rupert, Idaho.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
