FDR Lake Level Update, Grand Coulee Dam, Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region.

So, on a lake level note: Looks like Lake Roosevelt has bottomed out at about nine feet below full pool. Perfect. Makes for great beaches and no junk on the water.

Banks Lake, on the other hand is not exactly, er, optimum. But there is actually quite a bit of good news. It’s true the lake is being drawn down for maintenance, but that means several positive developments:

1. The water is warmer for swimming because the USBR is not pumping up fresh, cold water from the bottom of Lake Roosevelt, instead letting irrigators draw the level down as they use water.

2. You can still launch your boat at Coulee Playland, and you’ll be okay if you stick to the middle of the channel most of the time and use some common sense. And when you find a beach, it’ll be a BIG BEACH.

3. Fishing is excellent. The shrinking shoreline is concentrating walleye and bass that are hunting the critters they usually find up along a much bigger area (crawfish etc). Angler are having a blast. See the Graybill Report.