State and federal fisheries managers chose this week to draft Lake
Roosevelt through next Thursday in order to provide enough water to keep
chum salmon redds below Bonneville Dam from being dewatered.
The decision to continue drafting the reservoir at a maximum 1-1/2 foot
per day through most of next week could leave it at a dangerously low
level. It may preclude using as much Grand Coulee water as might be
needed in the spring and summer for spill or to augment flows.