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Category: Water Management - Missouri River
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  • Corps reducing outflows due to recent rains

    In response to recent heavy rains and runoff in southeastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa, releases from Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams will be reduced, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.

  • Releases from Gavins Point Dam reduced to address heavy rain

    Releases from Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River were reduced from 58,000 cubic feet per second to 52,000 cfs to address heavy rainfall in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. A weather system that has already seen rainfall totals from 2 to 6 inches across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa is causing increased river stages along the Missouri River and tributaries in the area.

  • Higher than average releases from Missouri River Mainstem projects to continue through the fall

    Higher-than-average releases from all System projects, including Gavins Point, will continue through the summer and fall. “Due to the water currently being stored in the reservoirs and the higher-than-average runoff being forecast in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, Gavins Point releases will remain near 58,000 cfs for the remainder of the navigation season to ensure evacuation of all stored flood waters prior to next year’s runoff season,” said John Remus, Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. The 2018 runoff forecast in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, is 39.8 million acre feet (MAF), 157 percent of average according to the Corps. July runoff was 5.1 MAF, 155 percent of normal.

  • Spillway flows at Garrison Dam scheduled for Monday, Aug. 6

    As releases decline from Garrison Dam, releases will be transferred from the regulating tunnels to the spillway on Monday, Aug. 6 with the spillway gates opening at about 11 a.m. The release capacity of the powerhouse is about 41,000 cfs so releases from the spillway will be about 9,000 cfs with 9 of 28 the spillway gates opening.

  • Releases from Garrison Dam continue to decline, project crews to test recent repairs

    Releases from Garrison Dam have been reduced to a rate of 54,000 cfs and will drop to 50,000 cfs this Thursday. After a month at 60,000 cfs, releases were reduced to 57,000 cfs on July 24. The gage at Bismarck peaked at a stage of 13.4 feet on June 29, which is approximately 1 foot below flood stage. Rapid mountain snowmelt in June coupled with heavy rains in Montana and northern Wyoming, would have caused much higher stages in Bismarck without Garrison Dam capturing that runoff. Instead of a peak of 13.4 feet on June 29, the river rise would have begun in late March hovering above flood stage through late June with a peak stage of 19.2 feet.

  • Higher-than-average releases from Missouri River Mainstem projects to continue

    Due to the water currently being stored in the reservoirs and the higher-than-average runoff being forecast in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, the service level was increased 25,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) above full service in late June to facilitate the evacuation of stored flood waters. The increased service level means that Gavins Point releases will be increased to approximately 60,000 cfs, as downstream tributary flows recede.

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