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Rising Canyon Ferry Reservoir water levels heats up business

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HELENA — A little more than two weeks ago, Canyon Ferry Reservoir was 18 feet below full pool, leaving docks unusable headed into the busy summer season. Still, recent rain and snow melt have helped water levels significantly in a short time.

"It was very slow coming in due to the cold spring, but once it started to come in, it came in very quickly. It was not more than a week or ten days ago, and our docks were still in the mud, but as you can see, it came in quite nicely,” said Lukas Jewett, owner of Kim’s Marina.

MTN News last spoke with Jewett right before the Memorial Day holiday, the delayed runoff to the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin rives had him nervous for the start of the summer boating season.

But business, like the water level in Canyon Ferry is up, and like much of the snow, Jewett’s concerns for the water seem to be melting away, and now he is awaiting temperatures to warm up.

"It's refreshing. There's a lot of people out, there's a lot of boats on the water, and the people are on their way," said Jewett.

The Canyon Ferry Reservoir is at nearly 83 percent of full pool, and all of the boat launches on the lake are open, leaving Jewett very excited for summer festivities to begin at the RV, Boat Launch, and docks.

"I saw the forecast, and it is looking great, and I know we are pretty booked for the weekend, so it's coming," said Jewett.