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  • Fort Peck releases to change slightly

    Releases from Fort Peck dam will be increased from 9,000 cubic feet per second to as much as 11,000 cfs to address conditions immediately downstream of the dam. Releases will begin increasing on Aug. 14, or once planned maintenance projects at the Fort Peck power house are completed.

  • Gavins Point releases to remain steady through August

    Below-normal precipitation in Montana and Wyoming during July resulted in slightly below-average July runoff in the upper Basin. The 2020 calendar year upper basin runoff forecast, updated on August 3, is 30.9 million acre-feet (MAF), 120% of average. Average annual runoff for the upper basin is 25.8 MAF.

  • Releases from Fort Peck Dam to decline during maintenance work

    Releases from Fort Peck Dam will be reduced from 11,000 cubic feet per second to 8,500 cfs on July 28 and then increase slightly to 9,000 cfs on July 29. A Power Plant maintenance project originally scheduled for June was rescheduled for late July. The project will require outages on Units 1, 2, and 3 to support testing on Unit 2.

  • ​Releases from Gavins Point Dam to decrease

    “The upper basin runoff forecast has been reduced by about 1 MAF due to the recent dry conditions as well as the National Weather Service’s climate outlook, which is indicating that the remainder of the summer will be warmer and drier than normal. However, the 2020 calendar year runoff forecast remains above average, mostly due to the very wet soil conditions during the early months of the year. Most of the mountain snowmelt runoff has entered the reservoir system. Remaining summer runoff will depend on rainfall events,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “As a result of the reduced runoff forecast, we will reduce Gavins Point Dam releases to 30,000 cfs on July 7,” Remus added.

  • Upper Missouri River basin forecast remains above average

    Water releases from Gavins Point Dam will remain at 33,000 cubic feet per second in June, which is about average. May runoff in the upper Basin was about 130% of average; however, the summer climate outlook indicates a return to warmer and drier conditions in the upper Basin.

  • Corps begins flexible spring spill operations to benefit fish and hydropower

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began implementing its 2020 Fish Operations Plan at the four lower Snake River dams April 3 and at the lower Columbia River dams April 10.

  • Missouri River basin’s below-normal precipitation leads to lower runoff forecast; reduced Gavins Point releases

    Gavins Point releases will be reduced to 33,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Friday, May 8 following a reduction in forecast 2020 upper basin runoff. Since January, precipitation in the upper basin has been well below normal, which has led to a reduction in the runoff forecast. Some areas of the Dakotas received less than half of their normal precipitation during the first four months of 2020.

  • Corps approves temporary modifications to lake water management plans

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Due to ongoing challenging conditions with wet soils and higher than normal river levels across the Missouri River Basin, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District is canceling plans to increase water levels in reservoirs for the spring as stated in the annual water level management plans.    This temporary modification will better position the Kansas City District's reservoirs to receive spring runoff, and manage for locally heavy rainfall following record lake levels across the district last year. Nine of 18 district reservoirs reached record pools in 2019. Flood control operations at Kansas City District Reservoirs and Bureau of Reclamation lakes prevented $131 million in damages in Kansas and $2.27 billion in damages in Missouri during the 2019 flood event. Life safety and flood control are primary factors in reservoir operations throughout the Missouri River Basin.

  • Reduced releases from Gavins Point expected Friday

    Releases from Gavins Point Dam will be incrementally reduced to 20,000 cubic feet per second beginning Thursday. Releases should reach 20,000 cubic feet per second by Friday morning and will be held there through the weekend.

  • 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.