TAKU RIVER FLOOD 2007
The Taku River reached its second-highest level in 20 years after a glacier dam broke during its annual release
and dumped water into the river.
The dam release near the Tulsequah Glacier over the Canadian border crested at 44.19 feet early Sunday at the U.S.
Geological Survey stream-gauging station.
The Tulsequah Glacier is about 45 miles northeast of downtown Juneau.
The only time the river has crested higher since the agency began tracking it occurred in 2004,
when it reached 45.07 feet.
"It was larger than normal," said Aaron Jacobs, a National Weather Service meteorologist
who was monitoring the river.
"What made the situation worse is the river was already flowing pretty high because of the above
average snowfall from this year."
At its peak flow, the Taku River was running around 110,000 cubic feet per second early Sunday.
The average median flow for July 22 is 29,100 cubic feet per second, said Dan Hess with the USGS field office in Juneau.
"It pretty much doubled from the flow prior to the outburst," Jacobs said of the release.
The flood stage begins at 43 feet. Moderate flood stage begins at 44 feet, and major flood stage occurs at 45 feet.
As of Monday afternoon, the flow was down around 45,000 cubic feet per second, Hess said.
