The massive snowpack and heavy rains winter dealt this year are swelling the Trinity River, which will run higher this spring than in any spring in decades.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is releasing twice as much water as it planned from Lewiston Dam in the past month in an effort to keep Trinity Lake from rising too high and posing a safety risk. The lake is only 4 feet from spilling out the glory hole -- a feature meant to relieve pressure on the dam.

”They're watching that very closely,” said Doug Schleusner with the Trinity River Restoration Program.

If a warm spell or a storm strikes, the bureau may have to release even more water to make room for that flowing in from tributaries.

But the biggest belt of water is scheduled for the end of the month. Reclamation will release 8,500 cubic feet of water per second or more from the dam for at least six days, sending a channel-changing, bank-scouring pulse downstream. For the year, Reclamation plans to release 815,000 acre feet of water.

The high flows are called for as part of the restoration plan for the river. Along with mechanically removing bank-side vegetation and feathering banks, the water is expected to clear out fine sediment to improve conditions for salmon and steelhead.

The extremely wet year, as it's been classified, is statistically supposed to happen only once every nine years. The 2000 restoration plan calls for releases of 11,000 cfs in such a year, but some structures and property along the river could be endangered by such a flood.

Last year was a wet year, too, and Schleusner said that the large volume of water sent down in 2005 appears to have worked as expected. Whether fish are taking advantage of newly scoured areas and improved habitat has yet to be determined, he said.

The restoration program will mechanically treat another eight areas along the river this summer, Schleusner said.

Big water means serious rafting. But Marc Rowley of Bigfoot Rafting Co. in Willow Creek said it's a blessing and a curse, since there are great rafting opportunities, but the public tends to be concerned about safety.

”It's the proverbial double-edged sword,” Rowley said.

Rowley said that there are ways to keep rafting safe and fun by sticking to tributaries or altering routes during high water. At the same time, Rowley said, swimmers, tubers and picnickers should be very wary of the fast, cold water.

Any of the outfitters on the river can share information on what conditions are like on any given day, he said, making a trip to the river as pleasant as it sounds.