Reclamation anticipates releasing 1,500 acre-feet of storage from Prineville Reservoir for conservation purposes consistent with the Deschutes River Basin Habitat Conservation Plan. The release will facilitate pulse flows timed to aid in the outmigration of anadromous smolts. The release is anticipated to begin the morning of Monday, April 17 and end the morning of Thursday, April 20, and will cause increased pulse flows of 250 cubic feet per second in the Crooked River.  

While the Crooked River basin has experienced severe drought in recent years, wet winter conditions have resulted in a significant snowpack in the basin this season. Spring runoff in the coming weeks may necessitate the need for higher releases below A.R. Bowman Dam to manage filling of Prineville Reservoir. 

“Please practice caution near the Crooked River this spring due to increased streamflow rates which can cause potential hazards such as swift moving water,” said Gregg Garnett, Bend Field Office manager.  

Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service work together to adaptively manage flows in the Crooked River to provide conservation benefits to Endangered Species Act-covered and other aquatic species.  

Prineville Reservoir is a storage facility and is part of the Crooked River Project. The water resources of Ochoco Creek and Crooked River are used to supply irrigation water to approximately 20,000 acres of land near Prineville, Oregon. 

For more information about the Crooked River Project visit https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=441. For more information about the Deschutes River Basin HCP visit https://www.fws.gov/project/deschutes-river-basin-habitat-conservation-plan.  

Original source can be found here.