Reclamation schedules Lake Audubon fall drawdown

OMAHA, NE- Beginning Monday, September 28, 2015 the Bureau of Reclamation will start lowering water levels on Lake Audubon. The water level of Lake Audubon will be lowered one week earlier than normal as part of annual fall drawdown operations and to allow the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District to make repairs to the gatewell covers on U.S. Highway 83.
Boaters, cabin owners and recreation users should take proper precautions regarding changing lake levels to include removing watercraft and equipment before the water recedes.
Drawdown operations will take one to two weeks.

By October 15, the water level for Lake Audubon will decline approximately 1.7 feet to 1845.0 completing the fall drawdown. The elevation of Lake Audubon at 3:30 p.m. on September 24 was 1846.70 feet msl.

Lake Audubon is a sub-impoundment of Garrison reservoir, located 8 miles northeast of Riverdale, N. D. Impounded by the Snake Creek Embankment, the lake was created in 1954 with the relocation of U.S. Highway 83 and a railroad across the Snake Creek Arm of Lake Sakakawea. The lake also provides fish and wildlife enhancement, and diversion of water for irrigation.

Annual fall drawdown operations are conducted on Audubon Lake for the following reasons:
 To provide for water freshening to improve water quality.
 To coincide with the southerly migration of waterfowl and shorebirds, providing exposed shoreline areas for feeding and loafing.
 To help reduce wave erosion of islands in the fall and ice damage during the winter and spring due to ice heave and breakup.