Fox River Stratton Operations Status Update
William G. Stratton-Thomas A. Bolger Lock and Dam
Algonquin Dam
IDNR 2025 Operating Schedule for Stratton Lock
MCHENRY, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) operating schedule for the William G. Stratton-Thomas A. Bolger Lock and Dam facility on the Fox River in McHenry County, opens for the 2025 season on Thursday, May 1.
Normal operating hours will be seven days per week from 8:00 a.m. until midnight during the months of May through September, and 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for the month of October.
The Stratton-Bolger facility is closed for the winter season each year from November 1 through April 30.
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Update: *This Update is based on the current forecast and will be adjusted based on future forecasts and rainfall.
SUMMARY
Due to construction needs at Chain O’Lakes State Park, the start of winter drawdown will be delayed until November 17th or when dredging is completed, whichever comes first. Due to the truncated timeframe, outflows will be higher than previous years. There is currently 2.00” of rain forecasted for the lakes over the next 7 Days (Figure 4). Inflows are forecasted to climb to over 1200 cfs on October 24th (Figure 1). Fox Lake, the Upper River, and Pool are all forecasted to be between 4.10’ and 4.15’ (Figure 2). The Lower River is expected to see a slight jump as flows increase (Figure 3).