Reservoir inflows in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa, were well-below average last month (March 2022).
The US Army Corps of Engineers says March runoff of 1.5 million acre-feet was 48% of average for the month. The updated 2022 upper Basin runoff forecast is 69% of average (17.8 MAF, approximately 2.6 MAF less than the March 1 forecast).
John Remus, chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, says runoff was well below normal due to dry soil conditions and well below normal precipitation across the entire basin. He says water conservation measures, such as minimum winter releases and reduced flow support for navigation, are implemented as the amount of water in the reservoir system declines.
The six mainstem power plants generated 527 million kWh of electricity in March 2022. Typical energy generation for the month is 640 million kWh. The Corps estimates the power plants will generate 7.2 billion kWh this year (2022), compared to the long-term average of 9.5 billion kWh per year.
The Corps will hold its annual spring public meetings for the upper Missouri River basin next week. The meeting for the Oahe region will be Tuesday (April 12, 2022) at 10am at the Casey Tibbs South Dakota Rodeo Center in Fort Pierre. Corps officials will discuss the planned operation of the mainstem reservoir system during the coming months.
Other meetings will be held in Fort Peck, Montana; Bismarck, North Dakota; Sioux City, Iowa; Smithville, Missouri; and Nebraska City, Nebraska.
To view the detailed three-week release forecast for the mainstem dams, go to https://go.usa.gov/xARQB.
The Missouri Basin Web App provides links to these reports and others that are updated more frequently. http://go.usa.gov/xE6fC.
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