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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 8, 2006 Reservoir levels will be drained of rainfall By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will spend the next four days purging Lost Creek and Applegate reservoirs of waters captured during last weekend’s storms. Lost Creek Lake will drop seven feet and Applegate Lake another 14 feet before both projects reach their normal operating levels late this week, authorities said. Corps hydrologists dropped Lost Creek Lake’s outflows Friday to 5,100 cubic feet per second, and they plan to hold that flow into Wednesday, says Jim Buck, the Corps’ Rogue Basin project manager. Lost Creek rose 17 feet while hydrologists used its winter storage space to shave 2.8 feet off the peak flood flow on Dec. 30 in Grants Pass, Buck said. During the peak flow of 78,200 cfs at Grants Pass, the Corps dropped Lost Creek’s releases to the 500 cfs minimum allowed by Corps operating rules, Buck says. Advertisement But the project was unable to avert flooding in the Grants Pass area because tributaries downstream of Lost Creek Lake were producing large volumes of water, Buck says. Elk Creek had flows peaking at more than 12,000 cfs — almost as high as the 14,600 cfs peak into Lost Creek, Buck says. The Elk Creek flows were higher than the 1997 flood and highest since the December 1964 flood, which was considered an event likely only once every 100 years. "That just shows you just how much of an influence that tributaries downstream (of Lost Creek dam) played in this event," Buck says. Lost Creek Lake rose 17 feet during the storm, and all but one foot of that will be released. The Corps each Jan. 1 starts slowly filling the lake but must keep to set levels, Buck says. At Applegate Lake, inflows topped out at 17,500 cfs on Jan. 1 and helped the lake rise 49 feet in three days, Buck says. Outflows were at 3,200 cfs on Friday, helping draw the reservoir down 35 feet from its Sunday peak, Buck says. The Corps will release all the stored storm water because the Applegate Basin’s proneness to flashy mid-winter storms mean the agency does not start filling the lake until Feb. 1. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Reservoir levels will be drained of rainfall ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Distance Education Computer Security Cheap Website Hosting Discount Hotel Reservations dvd-r Online Pharmacy Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews High End Computers Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Advertisement s