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News Releases

  • Navigation locks on Columbia, Snake rivers to close March 2 for annual maintenance

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will conduct routine annual inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs at all navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers March 2-17.

  • Reservoir system prepared for 2019 runoff season

    All 2018 stored flood waters were evacuated from the Missouri River mainstem reservoir system (System) as of Jan. 29. The full 16.3 million acre-feet (MAF) of designated flood control storage is available to manage 2019 runoff. “The System stands ready to capture spring runoff, reducing flood risk while providing support to other authorized project purposes. Current Gavins Point releases are 20,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and will be decreased to 17,000 cfs by mid-February,” said John Remus, Chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.

  • Federal Agencies revise Columbia EIS schedule

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration have revised the schedule to complete an environmental impact statement to assess and update their long-term strategy for the operations, maintenance and configuration of the 14 federal dam and reservoir projects in the Columbia River System.  According to the new schedule, these co-lead agencies will sign the Records of Decisions by the end of September 2020, one year earlier than previous scheduled.

  • System preparations for 2019 runoff season continue

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to prepare the Missouri River Mainstem System for the 2019 runoff season. Current Gavins Point releases are 20,000 cubic feet per second. Gavins Point releases will be increased to 24,000 cfs this week. “The higher-than-average winter releases from Gavins Point will continue the evacuation of the stored flood waters from the 2018 runoff season,” said John Remus, Chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “These releases will provide additional hydropower generation during the winter, which is one of the peak power demand periods. In addition, the higher-than-average releases will benefit municipal and industrial water intakes below Gavins Point Dam, which can be impacted by low water levels during periods of ice formation,” added Remus. Gavins Point Dam winter releases normally range between 12,000 and 17,000 cfs.

  • Corps steps down releases from Gavins Point Dam to winter release rate

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began reducing Gavins Point releases to the winter release rate on December 2. The releases will be stepped down at a rate of 3,000 cubic feet per second per day until they reach 20,000 cfs on December 11. Releases are expected to remain at or near 20,000 cfs for the remainder of the winter. Gavins Point Dam winter releases normally range between 12,000 and 17,000 cfs.

  • 2018 Edition of Missouri River Master Manual now available

    The 2018 edition of the document governing how the six dams on the Missouri River will be operated was made available to the public today. The 2018 Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System Master Water Control Manual, or Master Manual, reflects current data and conditions relative to data collection, reservoir modeling, long-term runoff forecasting, reservoir regulation planning, and communications. The 2018 manual also includes cumulative regulation data, such as runoff and reservoir data, through 2017.

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