Water releases into the Snake River at Jackson Lake Dam were reduced more than 15 percent this weekend and are expected to remain at lower levels through the rest of the summer.

Going into the weekend, the Bureau of Reclamation was letting about 2,400 cubic feet per second through to the Snake River. The rate of release is now 2,000 cfs.

The decision to drop Snake River water levels can be traced to recent rains, explained Mike Boyce, the bureau’s Upper Snake water operations manager.

“Over the last two weeks thunderstorms have affected irrigation diversions almost everywhere in the upper Snake River,” Beus wrote in an email. “Holding more water in upstream reservoirs, including Jackson Lake, may allow for higher flows next winter, as well as a higher lake level at the end of this summer and increased certainty of filling Jackson Lake next year.”

As of Monday afternoon, Jackson Lake was 87 percent full and Palisades Reservoir was 55 percent full.

Snake River water gauges throughout the valley this weekend reflected the drop-off in releases at Jackson Lake Dam. Between Friday and Monday, the Snake fell from about 4,000 to 3,300 cfs at Moose, from 4,400 to 3,800 cfs at Flat Creek and from 5,500 to 4,700 cfs in the Snake River Canyon.

This article appeared in the Jackson Hole News & Guide on August 19, 2014.