TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – Grab your camera, you’ll want to see this: Shoshone Falls is flowing at an impressive rate.

On Wednesday, flows were measured at close to 16,000 cubic feet per second, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Water from the Snake River above Milner Dam will begin to be diverted for irrigation purposes in May, but the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told News Radio 1310 that flows should remain high until the first part of summer.

“Flows should remain between the 10,000 and 15,000 cfs range through probably the end of June,” said Corey Loveland, water operations manager for the bureau’s Magic Valley office.

 

 

This year is not the highest that water has flowed at the falls. Loveland said 2017 flows were around 18,000 cfs, but this year's numbers are still well above average.

"Flows could go up, but we don't plan on it," he said. "We think it's at its peak right now. ... It's like this just when we have a big water year, like this year and last year. It's usually only about every 10 years or so that we get something like this."

The minimum pace that water can flow at the falls is 300 cfs, far below what the falls are at now.

At 212 feet high, Shoshone Falls, nicknamed the Niagara of the West, is higher than Niagara Falls and is one of the largest natural waterfalls in the U.S.

There’s a $3 admittance fee in spring and summer, which this year started on March 30, to enter Shoshone Falls Park and Dierkes Lake. Season passes are $25.

The Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Department did not return calls from News Radio 1310, but the department’s website says that vehicle admittance fees help cover the costs of park maintenance. The website also has a live camera of the falls.

On Monday evening one visitor from Orem, Utah, said it was her family’s first time visiting the falls. But it won’t be their last.

“We’re definitely going to have to come back,” she said.

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Andrew Weeks may be reached at Andrew.Weeks@townsquaremedia.com or 208-737-6012

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