Idaho Code § 70-507

70-507. Idaho water resource board to have supervision and control — additional release structures prohibited. The Priest Lake outlet control structure shall, when constructed, be under the sole and exclusive supervision and control of the Idaho water resource board, which may enter into contracts for a period of one (1) year or more with persons or corporations deemed qualified by the board to operate and maintain said outlet control structure or any other control structure erected as a replacement thereof; provided however, that under no circumstances shall the water surface level of Priest Lake be maintained or regulated by said board above 3.5 feet on the present United States Geological Survey Priest Lake outlet gage with gage datum of 2,434.64 feet above mean sea level, datum of 1929, supplementary adjustment of 1947, or released below 0.1 feet on said gage; provided further, that the water surface level of Priest Lake shall be maintained at 3.0 feet during the recreation season when the water supply to Priest Lake is plentiful, meaning normal to wet years, and between 3.0 feet and 3.5 feet during the recreation season when the water supply to Priest Lake is lacking, meaning dry and marginally dry years, on the United States Geological Survey Priest Lake outlet gage, from and after the time each year following the runoff of accumulated winter snows, when the surface level of the waters of Priest Lake has receded to such elevation, until the time after the close of the main recreational season, as determined by said board, that said lake waters may be released and the surface level permitted to recede below said elevation of 3.0 feet. The outlet control structure authorized under this section shall be the only structure authorized to release water from the lake. No siphon, gravity bypass, or other bypass device may be constructed to divert or otherwise direct water from Priest Lake to Priest River without prior approval by the Idaho state legislature and the governor.

History:

[70-507, added 1950 (E.S.), ch. 61, sec. 7, p. 87; am. 1957, ch. 128, sec. 1, p. 216; am. 1961, ch. 177, sec. 1, p. 271; am. 2018, ch. 62, sec. 1, p. 153; am. 2023, ch. 95, sec. 1, p. 289.]