Water will be released at four lower dams on the Missouri River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.
The higher releases will evacuate flood water stored in the Mainstem Reservoir System, preparing it to capture next year’s anticipated runoff, lessening the potential for future flood risk, the Corps of Engineers stated in a news release.
The excess water will allow the corps to extend the navigation season 10 days and provide higher winter releases, which will benefit winter hydropower generation and reduce risks to water intakes during the periods of ice formation in the winter, according to the announcement.
“Releases from Gavins Point Dam will be stepped up from the current release rate of 38,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 45,500 cfs during the next several days, and are expected to remain near that level throughout the fall. By evacuating the excess water from the reservoir system at the lowest possible rate for the longest period of time, the updated release plan will properly prepare the reservoir system for next year’s runoff season, while reducing downstream flood risk this fall,” said Jody Farhat, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.. “Although releases are higher than normal for this time of year, flows are expected to remain in the channel unless we experience a significant amount of rain.”
The corps will carefully monitor downstream conditions and adjust Gavins Point Dam releases as necessary this fall to provide flood risk reduction and continue evacuation of stored flood water, according to a spokesman.