Chances are good for water releases from upstream reservoirs into the Missouri River to continue through a few months.
The Kansas River also is experiencing higher flows as reservoirs upstream are filling up and water is being released.
At an Army Corps of Engineers news conference on Tuesday, Kevin Low, a National Weather Service hydrologist, said that the NOAA Climate Prediction Center indicates the chances are good for above normal precipitation for the next three months, June through August, across the entire Missouri River basin. Several rivers and tributaries in the Missouri River basin currently are in flood stage, he said.
While during the next seven days there are chances for pop-up thunderstorms in the region every day, Low said he didn’t look for significant rainfall to affect the mainstem rivers during this period.
According to John Remus, chief of the Missouri River basin water management, the 75,000 cubic feet per second water releases from the Gavins Point reservoir in South Dakota into the Missouri River would continue for some time, perhaps into the fall. The amount of the releases is monitored and evaluated daily. Remus said the cause of the flooding this year was heavy rainfall throughout the Missouri River basin.
Water from some Kansas reservoirs now is being released into the Kansas River, which was in minor flood stage in Wyandotte County on Tuesday. Both the Missouri and Kansas rivers were declining slightly in Wyandotte County on Tuesday. The releases have been held down to a level that results in less than the highest levels of the rivers seen in March and April.
The Missouri River crest has moved downstream from Kansas City, although the Missouri River is still in moderate flood stage in Wyandotte County. The Wolcott area near I-435 and the Missouri River is experiencing flooding.
At Levasy, Missouri, a levee in eastern Jackson County overtopped and breached last weekend, according to officials.
Throughout the Kansas City district, more than a million sandbags have been issued, according to Corps officials. Two automatic sandbag machines are currently deployed in Hardin, Missouri, according to officials. More than 43 levees have overtopped or overtopped and breached since May 22, officials said.
Truman Dam releases increased from 30,000 cfs to 40,000 cfs on Monday. Water has been accumulating at Truman Lake, into the surcharge stage, and after the crest passes Hermann, Missouri, the water releases could increase from 40,000 cfs to 60,000 to 70,000 cfs, according to Corps officials. That could be maintained for a few weeks, according to officials.
The Missouri River has been shut down to boat traffic during the present flooding, officials said.
