Water releases from some Kansas reservoirs are stepping up today, according to Corps of Engineers officials.
At a news conference today, corps officials stated that releases are increasing at the reservoirs as water levels are falling on the Missouri and Kansas rivers. In Wyandotte County, the Missouri River is in minor flood stage in the Wolcott area.
The corps is monitoring the water releases closely every day. The water flows into the Missouri and Kansas rivers, which meet in Kansas City, Kansas.
In the Kansas basin, Tuttle Creek is increasing its releases from 12,000 cfs to 16,000 cfs; Milford is increasing from 7,000 to 9,000 cfs; and Perry is increasing from 4,000 cfs to 6,000 cfs, according to corps officials.
Clinton reservoir releases will remain at low flow until the upstream reservoirs decline to 80 percent of their flood control pool occupied level, according to officials.
Tuttle and Perry reservoir levels were down slightly from Thursday, while Milford and Clinton levels were unchanged since Thursday, according to officials.
In the Osage basin, water levels have declined slightly at most reservoirs. Releases from Melvern are unchanged at 2,000 cfs; Hillsdale releases are still at low flow; releases from Pom de Terre were cut from 3,000 cfs yesterday to 1,500 cfs; and Truman is releasing 42,000 cfs, unchanged from yesterday.
Corps officials are monitoring releases from Truman dam based on river levels at St. Thomas, which is influenced by backwater from the Missouri River at Herman, Missouri. When the Missouri River falls, releases from Truman could be increased, according to officials. Stockton and Pom de Terre were impeded by backwater effects from Truman, officials said.
Reservoir levels at Melvern, Stockton and Pom de Terre were down slightly from Thursday, while Hillsdale and Truman levels were unchanged from Thursday, according to corps officials.
District officials said that all the Kansas City district dams were structurally sound and performing as they were designed.
Water releases into the Missouri River were decreased from 75,000 cfs to 70,000 cfs from Gavins Point dam in South Dakota on Thursday, according to corps officials. The forecast is to hold the 70,000 cfs level for three weeks.
A National Weather Service forecaster said that there is a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms over the entire Missouri River basin for the next seven days, in an on-again, off-again pattern. These chances for rain are to the north of the Kansas City area, in general.
The weather service forecast changed this afternoon to include a 30 percent chance of rain on the Fourth of July in Wyandotte County.
A corps official said there are currently pumping operations continuing at several locations on the Missouri River in the Kansas City corps district.
Corps officials said they are helping to complete plans for closing breaches in Holt County, Missouri. According to the corps, 83 requests for assistance have been received from levees since mid-March, and this figure could rise to at least 90.
The corps is in the process of evaluating damage to levees, according to officials. Levee owners and operators who participate in the corps’ programs are being asked to evaluate damage and to send damage estimates to the Corps of Engineers.
Damage from flooding to levees all along the Missouri River was estimated at $1.1 billion by a corps official, with that figure subject to change as more reports are received.
A corps official today stated that within the Kansas City district served by the Corps of Engineers, the estimate for flood damage to levees is probably around $100 million.