July runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was 2.3 million acre feet (MAF), 69 percent of average, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). This follows a June runoff that was 74 percent of average. The 2016 calendar year runoff forecast is 22.7 MAF, which is 89 percent of the historic average.
The total volume of water stored in the Mainstem Reservoir System is currently 59.4 MAF, occupying 3.3 MAF of the 16.3 MAF combined flood control storage zones. “System storage peaked on June 22 at 60.1 MAF and is gradually declining. The water currently stored in the annual flood control zone will be released during the remainder of the year to serve navigation, water supply and other downstream purposes and will be completely evacuated prior to the start of next year’s runoff season,” said Jody Farhat, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.