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Category: Water Management - Missouri River
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  • Upper Missouri River basin forecast runoff remains well below normal; water conservation measures continue

    Reservoir inflows in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa, were well-below average in March. The March runoff of 1.5 million acre-feet (MAF) was 48% of average for the month. The updated 2022 upper Basin runoff forecast is 17.8 MAF, 69% of average, approximately 2.6 MAF less than the March 1 forecast. 

  • Schedule for Missouri River spring public meetings set

    Spring public meetings to discuss Missouri River Water Management operations and plans are scheduled for April 11-15. Spring public meetings provide a status of mountain snowpack, a runoff forecast for the year, and how operations during the runoff year will meet the authorized purposes for the Missouri River Mainstem System.

  • Below average runoff continues for the upper Missouri River Basin

    “The runoff in February was less than predicted, and we expect the lower-than-average runoff to continue in the coming months,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “The snow accumulation in both the plains and the mountains continues to be below average, and the soil moisture remains very low compared to normal. This resulted in us lowering our anticipated runoff for the 2022 water year.”

  • Oahe and Big Bend Dams supporting temporary power needs

    Beginning today, releases from Oahe and Big Bend Dams in South Dakota will be increased from a daily average of about 15,000 cfs to about 36,000 cfs, downstream conditions permitting. These releases are aimed at providing additional power generation during a winter storm moving across the country over the weekend. "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division is working with the Western Area Power Administration much like last February," said John Remus, Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. These actions will not effects the overall system storage, and will not change the System releases from Gavins Point Dam. We do not expect these release changes to remain in effect for more than 24 hours.

  • Below average runoff forecast for the upper Missouri River Basin in 2022

    The updated 2022 calendar year runoff forecast for the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, continues to be below average.  “Despite January’s runoff being slightly above average, we expect 2022 runoff to remain below average,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Both plains snowpack and mountain snowpack continue to lag behind seasonal averages, and soil moisture continues to be much drier-than-normal.”

  • Dry Conditions expected to persist for the Missouri River Basin

    The 2021 calendar year runoff summation for the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa was 15.2 million acre-feet, 59% of average. The ongoing drought shows no relief in sight and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is predicting runoff into the mainstem reservoir system will remain below normal. This was the 10th lowest annual runoff for the Missouri River Basin in 123 years of record-keeping.