The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Missouri River Basin Water Management Division will be conducting five public meetings throughout the basin April 17-19. The purpose of these meetings is to update the region on current hydrologic conditions and the planned operation of the mainstem reservoir system during the coming months.
The 2018 runoff forecast in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, is 30.2 million acre feet (MAF), 119 percent of average according to the Corps. “The updated forecast increased slightly from last month due to the continued accumulation of mountain and plains snowpack in the upper basin,” said John Remus, Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Based on the current plains and mountain snowpack and precipitation outlooks, runoff into the Fort Peck and Garrison reservoirs is expected to be above average from March through August,” said Remus. For comparison, the 2017 runoff was 29.6 MAF, 117 percent of average.