Quote:
Originally Posted by John Mercier
Is that the target? 11" below full pool at this time of year?
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It is my understanding that they use the 40+ year mean as a guideline to aim for. Other factors also weigh in. For example, in the Spring, downstream flooding concerns may cause the dam management to let the lake to go higher than the "target". They draw down starting in June to gradually prepare for Spring snowmelt and rain but that is done over 6 months and may deviate for a while and recover later.
It is a good question if the mean, which reflects past management choices of the dam and the weather, is a "good" target. However, if not, what should it be? Any changes would have both positive and negative impacts in a complex system. Further, we are accommodated to the current system. We usually know what to expect and, mostly, how to deal with it.
There are also lots of stakeholders in the dam management decisions, with sometimes conflicting needs. Any changes might fix some problems and create even bigger ones, some we don't envision with consequences that could be hard to fix. Any discussions would involve people who have a stake in the outcome that could push the outcome in a specific direction that, overall, would satisfy them but cause an uproar after the full impact of any changes are felt. A "political" decision made now might be a bad one 2 years from now. Even turning it over to "experts" might fail to understand all factors.
That doesn't mean we should be paralyzed, just cautious.