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.

The Gavins Point pool elevation is no longer in surcharge —defined as extra storage space above the normal operating pool. Releases from Fort Randall Dam, upstream from Gavins Point Dam have been reduced to 4,500 cfs. The travel time from Fort Randall Dam to Gavins Point is about 36 hours.

Northwestern Division Commander Brig. Gen. D. Peter Helmlinger visited Omaha today to inspect the situation firsthand and to see the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ response to requests for assistance from the affected states.

“We are not at a loss for Corps personnel who have raised their hands to be a part of the flood fight. Corps employees are providing assistance when needed. I know there are people suffering terrible loss, and our hearts are with you,” said Helmlinger.

The National Weather service is forecasting that the Missouri River at Omaha, as well several unregulated downstream tributaries, have passed their crests but very high flows and stages remain throughout the basin south of Sioux City.

System storage is 56.6 million acre feet with 15.8 MAF of the 16.3 MAF of flood control storage remaining available to store runoff. About 97 percent of the flood control storage is available to store runoff this spring and summer. Of that flood control storage, 99 percent is upstream from Gavins Point Dam.

The Corps has established webpage at go.usa.gov/xE6fC (the URL is case sensitive) that can be saved to your mobile phone’s home screen which provides links to the most up to date information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers including runoff and release schedules, links to the Omaha and Kansas City Districts, links to our social media accounts, and provides a link to the National Weather Service, Missouri Basin River Forecast Center. We have also provided links to the “App” on Facebook and Twitter.

The release schedule for Gavins Point is as follows:
• 43,000 cfs Sunday evening
• 33,000 cfs Monday morning
• 23,000 cfs Monday evening
• 20,000 cfs Tuesday morning

Please note: the release schedule can change based on changing reservoir inflow and/or downstream river conditions.

Gavins Point release changes take two to three days to reach Omaha, three to four days to reach Nebraska City, and four to five days to reach Kansas City, Missouri.