Releases from Fort Peck Dam will be reduced from 9,000 cubic feet per second to 6,000 cfs on May 22.  Releases will be increased back to 9,000 cfs on June 2.  If the maintenance work is completed early, releases will return to 9,000 cfs as soon as possible.

Maintenance at the Fort Peck powerhouse, on the power tunnel, requires Units 1, 2, and 3 to be unavailable.

“The lowered releases will not have a significant impact on reservoir elevations at Fort Peck,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.  “However, downstream users, such as irrigators and water supply intakes, will need to plan for the lower releases during this period.”

Releases will be gradually increased from 6,000 cfs beginning May 6 reaching 9,000 cfs May 12, prior to the scheduled power tunnel maintenance.  Then, decreased May 22 during maintenance.

“The decreased releases from Fort Peck Dam will not have an effect on system storage or releases from downstream projects, nor will system releases from Gavins Point dam be changed,” added Remus.

Each Wednesday, or more frequently if needed, the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division releases a detailed three-week release forecast. The detailed forecasts include projected reservoir elevations, inflows and releases from each of the mainstem dams. To view the detailed three-week release forecast for the mainstem dams, go to https://go.usa.gov/xARQB.

“This preventative maintenance project removes some equipment from the powerhouse tunnel to help avoid future unscheduled outages,” said Darin McMurry, Fort Peck operations project manager.