AHSAHKA, ID – Dworshak Reservoir near Orofino will be several feet below full pool for the 4th of July holiday weekend.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began its annual summer release of water from Dworshak Dam Thursday to cool the Snake River downstream. The release is required annually to cool the Snake to increase fish survival.

Federal managers need to keep the Snake below 68 degrees. The river was running around 64 degrees Thursday morning at Lower Granite Dam South of Colfax.

The release means the popular Dworshak Reservoir will be between five and ten feet below full pool for the 4th of July. The corps is warning boaters on the reservoir to be prepared for dropping water levels. People enjoying the Clearwater River and its north fork below the dam need to be ready for rising water.

This is the earliest the corps has begun summer release from Dworshak since 2021.