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Interpreting USGS WA. state reservoir water levels...?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:17 pm
by The Quadfather
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=12193000

Usually the link I use to determine the water levels in a few Eastern WA. reservoirs is pretty easy to understand.... it just shows you a cup of water, and it is either full, or on the decline, and you get it.

Can anyone determine from the link above just what they are saying about the current level of water in Lake Shannon, near Mt. Baker? Yeah, the graph is going down, but it doesn't indicate at what percent the lake is full or partially full, etc.
I am thinking of making a trip up there, but when I went in the summer of drought, 2015, it was a disaster. SUPER low water level, worst fishing I've ever had for the length of drive, etc.

Re: Interpreting USGS WA. state reservoir water levels...?

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:09 pm
by G-Man
The link you provided gets you to a site where you can query past data and also provides you with the average min and max of the reservoir's surface.

Per the site: Normal lake elevation varies from 358.75 feet and 442.35 feet NAVD 1988.

Running a query for one year's worth of data shows they didn't draw down the lake nearly that far last season.
Lake Shannon 1 year graph.jpg
So currently the lake is down 7 - 10 feet of normal max, with another 35 to 40 feet to go until they reach last season's min and 70 feet or so to reach the historic minimum. I'd say you are good to go, but watch out for submerged trees and other items that would normally be visible later in the season.

Re: Interpreting USGS WA. state reservoir water levels...?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 6:51 am
by hewesfisher
^^^^

How I read it too.

I use this for Roosevelt.

Full pool is 1290' and seasonal draw down for spring runoff will typically be in the 1222' - 1235' range depending on snowpack