The US Army Corps of Engineers says higher-than-average releases from all Missouri River Mainstem System projects– including Oahe and Big Bend– will continue through the fall.
Oahe Dam releases will remain near 46-thousand cubic feet per second and Big Bend releases will be about 44-thousand cfs. Oahe releases will continue to be made from both the powerhouse and the outlet tunnels. Releases from the outlet tunnels are required due to scheduled maintenance on the hydropower units and the need to continue evacuating stored runoff.
Missouri River Basin Water Management Division chief John Remus says because of this year’s high runoff and the water currently being stored in the reservoirs, releases will remain high to ensure evacuation of all stored flood waters prior to the 2019 runoff season. He says much of that has to occur before the river freezes over in the northern reaches.
Additionally, the Corps will hold public meetings in six cities—including Fort Pierre– next month to discuss 2018 operations and plans for regulating the reservoir system in 2019. The presentations will be followed by a question and answer session. The meeting in Fort Pierre will be Wed. Nov. 7 at 10am at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center conference room.
The forecast reservoir releases are not definitive. Additional precipitation, lack of precipitation or other circumstances could cause adjustments to the reservoir release rates. The Corps will continue to monitor basin and river conditions and will adjust System regulation based on the most up-to-date information.
To view the detailed three-week release forecast for the mainstem dams, go to http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/reports/twregfcast.pdf.
Weekly updates on basin conditions, reservoir levels and other topics of interest can be viewed here: http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/reports/pdfs/weeklyupdate.pdf.
The 2018-2019 draft Annual Operating Plan for the Missouri River Mainstem System was posted in September at: http://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/MRWM/Public-Meetings/.
