Much needed rain and snow helped water levels at Cheney lake this past month, but only a little.

As of Wednesday morning, the lake level at Cheney was 1417 feet.. That’s up a foot from last month when the lake fell to 1416 feet, which is five feet below normal.

Dry conditions and draw down from Wichita continues to put a strain on the lake, which has been left without serviceable boat ramps for the last part of the summer and this fall.

Another problem came up with the number of area residents that are using the lake bed for mud running their pick up trucks, leaving many of them stuck.