Kim Fundingsland/MDN Work is underway at the Totten Trail boat ramp, limiting access for boaters and recreationists to a single lane. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is replacing aging concrete on the ramp. The lower section of the ramp will be poured as water in Lake Audubon is drawn down to accommodate repairs to structures utilized by the Snake Creek Pumping Station.

COLEHARBOR–It’ll be a fall season like no other on Lake Audubon. Five of the lake’s six boat ramps will be unusable in the coming days. Additionally, the lone ramp that will remain open will be undergoing concrete replacement and will be reduced from two lanes to one.

The Bureau of Reclamation is lowering Lake Audubon from its summer operating level of 1,847 feet to 1,841 feet. The drawdown is expected to be completed about October 1. Normal late season drawdown for Lake Audubon is two feet. The additional four feet this year is to allow for repairs and maintenance to Snake Creek Pumping Plant facilities.

Once the drawdown is complete and subsequent repairs are made, Lake Audubon will be pumped back up to its winter operating level of 1,845 feet. At this time that level is not expected to be reached until mid-November.

Initial drawdown of Lake Audubon got underway several days ago through the use of the McClusky Canal on the lake’s east side. However, the primary release of water from Lake Audubon will be through a tunnel underneath the U.S. Highway 83 embankment that separates Lake Audubon from Lake Sakakawea. That gravity fed tunnel will carry a maximum of 1,000 cubic feet per second of water from Lake Audubon into Lake Sakakawea. Engineers estimate it could take up to 35 days to complete the six foot drawdown.

The Totten Trail boat ramp has a bottom elevation of 1,826 feet, so it will remain operable throughout the drawdown. Although the number of boats utilizing the ramp diminishes at this time year, it is anticipated that parking will become congested at times.

The remaining five ramps on Lake Audubon are shorter in length and will not be usable, including the popular Cabin Site ramp which ends at 1,842 feet. Access to Lake Audubon from the bay where the Cabin Site ramp is located is currently about 6 ¢ feet deep, meaning it will be virtually isolated at the height of the drawdown.

Sportsmen’s Centennial boat ramp

Temporary delays for boaters can be expected at the Sportsman’s Centennial boat ramp on the east end of Lake Sakakawea during select times. That’s according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

The BOR says, in partnership with the State Water Commission, that it will collect soil data from the lakebed in “preparation for a project feature of the Northwest Area Water Supply Project.”

A barge, soil-drilling rig, and other equipment will be launched from the boat ramp. The process involves a crane and several semi-trailer trucks for loading and off-loading equipment into the lake.

The entire process is expected to take about 10 days with boat ramp delays occurring only on the first and last days of the project. It is anticipated that work will commence at the Sportsmen’s Centennial boat ramp the week of Aug. 30.