Boise River flows to rise, agencies advise caution near its banks

Federal river managers say they will make significant changes Tuesday to the amount of water moving through the Boise River.

The flow will increase from 250 cubic feet per second at the Glenwood Bridge in Garden City to 2,250 cfs by Friday.

The increased flow is meant to reduce the risk of flooding later in the spring, the federal Bureau of Reclamation announced. Above-average snowpack and other winter precipitation in the watershed could bring flooding from rapidly melting snow and rain if the flow isn’t adjusted now.

Officials from the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Lucky Peak Reservoir, said extreme caution should be used near the banks of the river. The added flows will make the water deep, cold and fast.

Real-time flow data is available online.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Boise River flows to rise, agencies advise caution near its banks."