US Army Corps of Engineers
Northwestern Division Website

News Releases

  • Plains snowmelt reaching mainstem reservoirs

    Corps water managers are closely monitoring plains snowmelt runoff in South Dakota and North Dakota and adjusting releases at the mainstem projects to balance inflows, rising reservoir levels, and downstream conditions. The mountain snowpack, which usually peaks around April 15, remains average. By April 1, 97 percent of the snowpack accumulation has normally occurred.
  • Gavins Point releases set for 27,000 cfs Monday, Upper basin snow melt beginning

    Releases from Gavins Point Dam will be increased to 27,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) Monday, March 25. The pool elevation declined .3 feet in the past 24 hours. The mountain snowpack remains average and plains snow melt in the upper basin is beginning.
  • Gavins Point releases will not reach 20,000 cfs, Fort Randall releases to resume Saturday

    Gavins Point Dam releases have been maintained at 24,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) since Wednesday, March 20. The new forecast is to increase releases from Gavins Point Dam to 32,000 cfs once the crest on the Big Sioux River reaches Sioux City. Releases from Fort Randall Dam will begin on Saturday, March 23 at a release rate of 4,000 cfs. On Sunday, releases will be increased to 12,000 cfs. Travel time from Fort Randall Dam to Gavins Point Dam is about 1.5 days.
  • Gavins Point releases still at 24,000 cfs, Fort Randall releases at zero until Saturday

    Gavins Point Dam releases were reduced from 28,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 24,000 cfs on Wednesday, March 20. “Releases were scheduled to be reduced to 20,000 cfs by this morning but Gavins Point inflows, primarily from the Niobrara River, continue to match releases. Our office will continue monitoring runoff conditions throughout the Missouri River basin,” said John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Water Management Division.
  • Gavins Point releases to reach 20,000 cfs by Thursday, Fort Randall releases at zero until Friday

    Gavins Point Dam releases were reduced from 28,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 24,000 cfs this morning. Releases are scheduled to be reduced to 20,000 cfs by tomorrow morning. The Corps plans to maintain Gavins Point releases at 20,000 cfs as long as system conditions allow. Releases from Fort Randall Dam are scheduled to be increased from 0 cfs to 4,000 cfs on Friday. Travel time from Fort Randall Dam to Gavins Point Dam is about 1.5 days.
  • Fort Randall releases hold at zero, Gavins Point releases slowly declining

    Gavins Point Dam releases were reduced from 38,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) this morning and will be reduced to 28,000 cfs this evening. Releases from Fort Randall Dam remain at 0 cfs. The Corps plans to continue making Gavins Point releases reductions until it reaches 20,000 cfs.
  • Corps reduces releases from Fort Randall Dam to zero

    For the second time in the past week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has stopped all upper Missouri River Basin flows at Fort Randall Dam, the agency announced today. “We have stopped releases again from Fort Randall Dam. The inflows into Gavins Point Dam continue to be higher than normal,” said John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Water Management Division.
  • Corps continues reducing Gavins Point releases

    Releases from Gavins Point Dam were reduced to 53,000 cubic feet per second Sunday morning and will be further reduced to 43,000 cfs this evening, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.
  • Corps reducing Gavins Point releases as Niobrara inflows decline

    Releases from Gavins Point Dam were reduced to 73,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) Saturday morning, March 16 and will reduced over the coming days reaching 20,000 cfs on Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today. According to the National Weather Service, tributary flows into Gavins Point Dam, primarily from the Niobrara River have dropped significantly over the past 48 hours.
  • Gavins Point Releases Reach 90k

    Water releases from Gavins Point Dam will be increased to 90,000 cubic feet per second at 8 pm today as unregulated inflows from the Niobrara and other watersheds continue to spill into the reservoir. At the same time, Corps officials in Omaha and Kansas City are lending support and resources to state and local communities dealing with rising waters from a powerful regional storm.