The latest 2024 calendar year runoff forecast for the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, remains below average.
The 2024 calendar year runoff forecast above Sioux City is 68% of average or 17.5 million acre-feet. March runoff was 59% of average or 1.8 MAF. The runoff forecast is based on current soil moisture conditions, mountain snowpack, and long-term precipitation and temperature outlooks.
John Remus is the chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. He says even with the lower than average runoff forecast the hydrologic conditions are sufficient to conduct a flow test from Fort Peck Dam to determine if there is a water management scenario that could benefit the Pallid Sturgeon.
The six mainstem power plants generated 625 million kWh of electricity in March, below the typical March average of 636 million kWh. Forecast generation for 2024 is 8.5 billion kWh compared to the long-term average of 9.4 billion kWh.
To view the detailed three-week release forecast for the mainstem dams, go to
Basin and river conditions continue to be monitored, including plains and mountain snow accumulation and melting, and System regulation will be adjusted based on the most up-to-date information. The forecast reservoir releases and elevations discussed above are not definitive. Additional precipitation, lack of precipitation or other circumstances could cause adjustments to the reservoir release rates.
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