Moses Lake is getting shallower with each passing day this week.

The Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District annually reduces water levels in the lake for a variety of reasons.

The district’s board president, Bill Bailey, says one of the primary designs of the reduction is flood control.

“The lake is dropped every year to provide a buffer in the event that there is an unseasonable amount of moisture, which might not seem likely in a drought like we’re having but it’s still part of the practice.”

Water levels in Moses Lake will be dropped by roughly five feet this week which also aids in controlling aquatic weeds and allows crews to conduct a comprehensive cleanup of the shoreline.

Bailey adds that the practice helps to keep the lake clean as well.

“When we drop the lake it takes about one-third of its total volume out. Then in the spring, when we fill the lake again, it’s filled with water from the Columbia River. That helps to clean the lake by providing fresh, cool water with lower phosphorous levels.”

After the lake is partially drained, most of its remaining waters freeze over during the winter months. However, the lake remains deep enough for fishing at its south end.

The lake is typically lowered during the first week of November every year and filled sometime in early spring.

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