BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) - Thousands of people flocked to the Lucky Peak Dam Saturday and Sunday for the releasing of water known as the Rooster Tail.Officials release water from the dam for flood storage space, and irrigation needs. The rooster tail used to be a daily occurrence until 1986 when construction of the Lucky Peak Power Plant Project started. Now it's only used when water exceeds powerhouse capacity. They do a release this time of year because of the extra water from the spring runoff.
Because it rarely happens anymore people travel long distances just to see the massive water flow. Jeanette Woods of Nampa came out because she hasn't seen the water flow in years and is still taken aback.
" It's not something you see every day," Woods said. "It's just an exorbitant amount of pressure of water coming out from what appears to be just this little hole."
The water shoots upwards because of a 'flip bucket' which is used to channel the massive water pressure so it doesn't erode the river bed. When it goes so high in the air it comes down much softer and doesn't disturb the river as much. The Rooster Tail is usually 1,500 - 2,500 cubic feet of water rushing out per second.
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