More

    Reclamation issues February 2023 snowmelt forecast for Boysen, Bull Lake reservoirs

    (Fremont County, WY) — Reclamation’s February forecast of the April through July runoff predicted for the Boysen and Bull Lake reservoirs (Bighorn River Basin) are as follows:

    Boysen Reservoir – Wind River April through July inflow to Boysen Reservoir is forecast at 800,000 af, which is 131% of the 30-year average of 611,000 af. As of February 1, Boysen Reservoir is 81% full. *

    Bull Lake Reservoir – April through July snowmelt runoff into Bull Lake Reservoir from Bull Lake Creek is expected to be 170,000 af, which is 118% of the 30-year average of 144,200 af. As of February 1, Bull Lake Reservoir is 48% full. *

    Advertisement

    *Reservoir is considered “full” when the pool elevation is at top of active conservation or joint-use pool.

    The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the Bighorn Mountains on the east, and the Wind River and Granite Mountains on the south. It is drained to the north by tributaries of the Bighorn River, which enters the basin from the southwest, and passes through a gap between the Owl Creek and Bridger Mountains as the Wind River before changing its name to the Bighorn River at Wedding of the Waters, south of Thermopolis.

    Reclamation’s storage reservoirs in the basin have a combined storage capacity of 2.6 million acre-feet and most of that capacity is attributed to Bull Lake, Boysen and Buffalo Bill Reservoirs in Wyoming and Bighorn Lake in Montana. Hydropower is produced at Boysen Powerplant and four powerplants supplied by Buffalo Bill Reservoir in Wyoming and at Yellowtail Powerplant in Montana.

    For additional information on Boysen, and Bull Lake Reservoirs, contact Wyoming Area Manager Lyle Myler at 307-261-5671.

    Advertisement
    Advertisement

    Related Posts

    Have a news tip or an awesome photo to share?