Beginning today (Feb. 4, 2022), the US Army Corps of Engineers is increasing releases from the Oahe and Big Bend Dams in South Dakota to about 36,000 cfs, downstream conditions permitting.
John Remus, Chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, says these releases are aimed at providing additional power generation during a winter storm moving across the country over the weekend. He says their Northwestern Division is working with the Western Area Power Administration– WAPA– much like in February 2021 when a huge power outage caused rolling blackouts in the center of the US from the northern border to the southern border.
Remus says they don’t expect these release changes to remain in effect for more than 24 hours. He says the change won’t impact the overall system storage and will not change the System releases from Gavins Point Dam.
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