Flood in Bonner County, Idaho

The USGS River Flow Gage at Abeni Falls Dam which controls the flow of the Pend Oreille River below the dam surpassed the Flood Flow of 95,000 Cubic Feet per Second (CFS) at 2:30 PM PST on May 11th. The flow increased and passed through the Moderate Flood Flow of 115,000 CFS at 12:15 PM on May 18th. The flow continued to increase and peaked at the Moderate Flood reading of 121,000 CFS at at 5:00 AM on May 27th. The flow continued to fluctuate between 118,000 CFS and 121,000 CFS through the end of May. The flow receded to below the Flood Flow on June 6th.

Above Albeni Falls Dam the river is a slow moving extension of Lake Pend Oreille. The USGS Lake Level Gage on Lake Pend Oreille near Hope recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 2063.5 feet on May 18th. The lake level crested at 2063.8 on May 23rd. The lake level remained at or slightly above Flood Stage through the remainder of the month.

An above average snow pack in the mountains drained by the Pend Oreille and Clark Fork River basins melted at an accelerated rate during the month of May. Run off from this snow melt prompted the Albeni Falls Dam to open the floodgates and bring the Pend Oreille River in Idaho and Washington to moderate flood level for an extended period of time from the middle of May through the first week of June. Only a short The portion of the river exists in Idaho below the dam and no damage was reported in Idaho.