The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is prepared to spill more water from Chief Joseph Dam in the next several days because of warmer temperatures and melting snow pack above Grand Coulee Dam.
     Officials planned to start spilling water from Chief Joseph Dam, on the Columbia River just below Grand Coulee, on May 24.
     Chief Joseph Dam is a "run of the river dam," said Carolyn Fitzgerald of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Seattle district water management office in Seattle.
     That means water hitting the dam must go downstream, according to a Corps announcement.
     Once water exceeds the capacity of the powerhouse to generate electricity, extra water must go through spillway gates to maintain the desired pool level behind the dam, according to Fitzgerald.
     Only a few of the spillway gates nearest the powerhouse are likely to be needed for the spill and that downstream effects will be minimal, she said.
     Recreational river users downstream should be aware that river conditions can change rapidly and that both velocity and depth of the river will be greater than normal, Fitzgerald said.
     Such conditions could result in disaster for small boat approaching too close to the dam or not being vigilant for changing conditions, she noted.
     The Corps operates and maintains Chief Joseph Dam.
     More information is available at www.nws.usace.army.mil or www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nws/hh/basins/images/eastern.gif, then select the Chief Joseph Dam button.