3/10/2020 UPDATE:

The current lake elevation is at 364’ or about 3.5’ below the ACE profile for this time of year. To be clear, a keel boat with a 4.5’ draft needs a minimum elevation of 370’ to launch assuming the keel trough is 1 to 1.5’ above the ground when parked on a level surface. There are sources for depth throughout the marina at a given lake elevation. These numbers will help you determine if you have enough water at your slip, but suffice to say, deeper draft keel boats will not be launching anytime soon. (The files on this topic are currently MIA, but I will investigate and get them on our site.)

Keep in mind that the lake water comes from runoff from the coast range and drainage from Amazon Creek running through Eugene. Snow fall is really not a factor. The simple truth is that the dam closure happens February 1st each year and we must get rain in February and March to enable sailing in April. The is still the possibility of additional rain through about mid June, but it must come in a more concentrated from a multi day rainstorms to result in runoff that will add to the lake level. Until the ground saturates, we don’t get much in the way of added runoff. Also, as the lake level rises, it take more volume to get additional depth as the lake surface area increases with depth.

Shallow draft boats and swing or lifting keel boats may still get in without issue if the water should attain an elevation of about 368’ or if they launch at alternate facilities with more water at the launch ramp than Richardson can offer. (Orchard Pt is about 1 foot deeper and may make launching easier.)