| INFLOW Canyon Lake receives the flow of the Idagon after the flow has been increased by runoff from Area 3 and by the White River and the Devil's River. The inflow averages around 13 MAF/year. The month by month variations in the inflow are illustrated in the chart. The chart shows a peak in spring due to peak runoff in the White River and the Devil's River. Then the inflow drops dramatically with the start of the irrigation season in Area 3. Runoff from Area 3 is responsible for the large inflow shown in September. OUTFLOW Canyon Lake is operated for power production and to meet two separate flow targets. The first flow target is set from the cockpit for the months of April and May. This target is set at 40 MAF/year in the illustration below. High flows during April and May are needed to meet flow goals in the reach of the Idagon after the confluence with the Big Fish River. The high flows are required to improve conditions for the salmon smolts spring migration. Improving the April/May flows for the Salmon is one of six goals for the Idagon. |
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| Another of the six goals is to maintain sufficiently high
flows below Canyon Lake to support water quality and wildlife for the other
10 months of the year. In the chart above, the minimum flow target for the
remaining 10 months is set at 4 MAF/year. Canyon Lake will be operated to meet the two minimum flow targets specified in the flight simulator. To check that this operation is feasible, you should open the graph "Fullness_of_Western_Reservoirs" to learn if the Canyon Lake can be refilled each year. You might also open the graph "In_and_Out_Flow_3_Canyon_Lake" to see if the simulated flows are similar to the illustration shown below. CANYON LAKE DIMENSIONS The reservoir storage capacity is 16 MAF which amounts to about 1.2 years of average annual flow. The lake's surface area is 40,000 acres when the lake is full. The height of water at the dam is 600 feet when the lake is full. The net evaporation rate in this region is 2 feet/year, so the evaporation losses amount to 80,000 AF/yr or somewhat less than 1% of the annual flow. The hydro-electric power production from the Lake Idagon dam depends on the flow through the turbines and the height of water at the dam. Much of the power is generated in April and May when the reservoir is used to support the salmon smolts spring migration. |
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