Company discussing drought’s impact on fisheries and recreation with state, federal agencies; pulse flows may be required to help protect fish habitat
In response to the prolonged drought in the upper Madison region and across southwestern Montana, PPL Montana — together with state fish and wildlife officials — is closely monitoring the water level in Hebgen Lake with a focus on mitigating the effects of this year’s drought on the Madison River.
“We and everyone else in this region are at the mercy of nature and are feeling the effects of this prolonged dry spell on the levels at Hebgen Lake and in the Madison River,” said David Hoffman, director of external affairs for PPL Montana.
“We’re sensitive to the concerns of our neighbors, boaters, anglers and river guides and other people who use Hebgen Lake and the Madison River, and we recognize the effects that lower lake levels and river flows have on them,” Hoffman said. “While the drought persists, we are actively working with government agency experts to minimize the effects on lake and river levels this season in order to meet several important needs.”
As part of PPL Montana’s compliance with its U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license at Hebgen Lake, the company will likely be required to implement pulse flows into the lower Madison River this week.
Pulse flows, where a surge of water would be released from Ennis Lake to provide increased flows into the lower river, are required to reduce downstream water temperatures to protect valuable fish habitat in the Madison River. If the drought and warm weather persist, pulse flows will be implemented as necessary from now until conditions warrant a change.
PPL Montana will also be notifying FERC that it has received resource agency approval to drop lake levels below recreational levels this summer if necessary to protect the valuable fish habitat downstream.
“We hope lowering Hebgen below this level will not be needed, but we feel it’s appropriate to plan now to protect habitat in the Madison River,” Hoffman said.
Bruce Rich, Region 3 fisheries manager with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the drought has been tough on water resources and recreation throughout southwestern Montana, but this is the first time that water supplies have gotten this critical in decades.
“We are hopeful that anything that can be learned from this year will be utilized in the future to minimize situations like we are currently facing,” Rich said. “We are working as closely as possible with PPL Montana folks in the best interest of the health of the entire Madison River system.”
Public meetings about the effects of the drought on water resources in southwestern Montana will be held July 11 at El Western in Ennis and July 12 at the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone.
Both meetings start at 7 p.m. Representatives from PPL Montana and state fish and wildlife officials will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.
“The main thing we have learned is that only more precipitation and summer weather that does not get excessively hot will improve the situation,” Hoffman said. “Throughout the summer, we will communicate with lakeshore property owners, anglers and river outfitters, along with others who come to the river and lake, to keep everyone updated on the drought’s impact on water levels.”
Contributing to the situation at Hebgen has been a light snowpack and no significant rainfall this spring.
The forecasted water flow into Hebgen Lake from May to June decreased by an amount equal to about 4 feet of storage in the reservoir. PPL Montana has been able to fill Hebgen Lake within 2.14 feet from full.
Although precipitation this spring has been high in some areas of Montana, the upper Madison drainage area above Hebgen has not received enough precipitation to produce normal flows.
“PPL Montana is balancing a variety of interests in operating Hebgen Lake,” Hoffman said. “Right now we are holding back water to increase our efforts to maintain a minimum flow in the lower Madison River and to help protect fisheries and recreation resources during the hot summer.”
The company is required to maintain a minimum level in the lake for recreation, conditions permitting, and to release water to maintain minimum and pulse river flows for trout and recreation. So far, PPL Montana is meeting all requirements for lake level and water releases and continues to evaluate this balance based on unknown variables such as summer weather, inflows and other factors.
During the drought, PPL Montana encourages voluntary water conservation by all river users and irrigators along the lower Madison River.
PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).