For the first time in more than 30 years, water flows from Salmon Falls Dam spillway

It’s been quite some time since the spillway of the Salmon Falls Dam saw any water. This year’s heavy precipitation has changed all that.

On May 13, dam officials released water at the Twin Falls-area dam, which sits on Salmon Falls Creek. The last time that happened was in 1984 — the only time it had been used since the dam’s construction in 1910.

A spokeswoman for the Salmon Dam Canal Company, which operates the dam, said farmers have had free irrigation water for about a week and a half. The company plans to stop water flows soon, possibly on Tuesday.

Still, there’s a lot of water to come in yet. Officials aren’t sure if they’ll have to release water again, though they said they’re hoping that won’t be necessary.

This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 3:39 PM with the headline "For the first time in more than 30 years, water flows from Salmon Falls Dam spillway."