Waiting game at Lake Sakakawea

By KIM FUNDINGSLAND, Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
VAN HOOK – For anxious anglers, the sight of boat ramps out of the water is sort of like the big one that got away.


So close, and yet so far.


At several boating access points on both sides of Lake Sakakawea, boaters and fishermen are playing a waiting game. They are closely monitoring the water level of the large reservoir, matching daily numbers and projections against the lower elevations of their favorite boat ramps.


At the New Town Marina and at Van Hook, often the busiest place on the lake, new boat ramps have been poured in anticipation of the rise of the water and the return of boaters. The new ramp at New Town Marina remains out of the water, its access blocked by large boulders until the lake level rises enough that boaters can safely use the ramp. A similar situation exists at Van Hook, where a trio of newly poured concrete ramps sit a few feet from the water’s edge.


“We’ve actually got metal in the water beyond the ramps,” said Rick Folden, Van Hook manager. “They are covered up with silt but are operational. The only problem is that boats have to back in quite a ways.”


The new ramps are located on Gull Island. To reach them, boaters must drive across more than a mile of dry lake bed. A contractor is scheduled to make improvements to the road later this month. It’s another example of dollars being spent to chase the water on Lake Sakakawea.


At Fort Stevenson State Park, improvement work was completed this week on the double-wide concrete ramp that will also serve a new marina that is under construction.


If the latest lake forecast by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers holds true, the level should reach 1,809 feet by the end of May. The bottom of the new ramps at Van Hook are approximately 1,808 feet. According to the latest projections, Lake Sakakawea should rise nearly four additional feet in the month of June. That would mean nearly five feet of water over Van Hook’s new ramps. Other ramps on the lake would also benefit.


The May 1 projected runoff in the Missouri River Basin remains at 20 million acre feet of water. That amount is 79 percent of the long-term norm for the basin and will mark the eighth-straight year of less than normal runoff. Ironically, the Montana mountain snowpack that supplies the annual spring runoff is listed at 105 percent of normal. However, due to continuing dry conditions that will affect the amount of runoff, much less water will reach Lake Sakakawea.


The new outlook shows some cause for optimism. Peak levels for Lake Sakakawea during the summer of 2008 are now expected to be above the 1,814 mark. Projections are for the reservoir to reach 1,814.5 by the end of July. The April outlook predicted an end of July level of 1,813.6. A normal operating level for the reservoir is 1,835 feet.