MILLS, Wyo. -- The Bureau of Reclamation, at the request of, and in collaboration with, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGF), Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming Water Development Office, and Willwood Irrigation District, has scheduled a one-time flushing flow in the Shoshone River downstream of Buffalo Bill Dam.
"The Bureau of Reclamation is able to retime operations and provide the flushing flow due to the above average anticipated inflows to Buffalo Bill Reservoir, and the expectation of needing to pass excess water this spring," said Wyoming Area Manager, Carlie Ronca. "The flush will be accomplished without adversely impacting overall power generation at Buffalo Bill Dam or the expected water supply for irrigation."
Flows in the river below Buffalo Bill Dam will be increased from approximately 2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 4,000 cfs on April 3, and 4,000 cfs will be maintained April 3 through April 14, when flows will be reduced back down to 2,000 cfs.
The purpose of the flushing flow is to mobilize and remove sediment which was deposited in the river channel downstream of Willwood Dam last fall.
Flows of 4,000 cfs or more in the Shoshone River below Buffalo Bill Dam are not unusual during peak summer snowmelt runoff periods in years of above average runoff. But the flows will be high for this time of year, and the public is urged to use extreme caution during this period of flushing flows below Buffalo Bill Dam.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
