Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Green Peter Reservoir should be full through mid-July and then gradually drawn down throughout the remainder of the summer while Foster will stay full, according to Corps of Engineers officials.
The water outlook for this summer is looking quite good, Corps Public Affairs Specialist Amy Echols said. In recent weeks, the Corps has released more water from its lakes than it normally would.
The inflow into the reservoirs is keeping everything full right now, she said. Detroit was 99 percent full on Friday while Green Peter was at 97 percent. Foster was 101 percent.
“We didn’t get what you would consider an excessively wet winter,” she said, but the snow pack, which was above average across much of the state, is helping keep flows balanced.
“It kind of looks like there’s some steady inflow into the (Green Peter) reservoir,” Corps Hydrologic Engineer Mary Scullion said. “”I’m expecting it to be pretty close to full all the way to mid-July.”
Inflow is high right now with runoff, she said, so outflows are also running high.
By mid-July, the inflow should drop to its base level, and Green Peter will be drawn down gradually to meet downstream flow requirements, she said.
“We expect Foster to be full,” she said, and Green Peter has low-level boat ramps. “We expect there to be great recreation all season.”