The US Army Corps of Engineers says July 2023 runoff in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was 99% of average or 3.3 million acre-feet (MAF).
Runoff was near or above average in all reaches except Fort Peck, which was 68% of average.
John Remus is the chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. He says soil moisture conditions deteriorated in Montana, North Dakota and northern South Dakota over the last month, but improved across southern South Dakota and into the lower basin.
Remus says precipitation was below normal over most of the upper Missouri River basin last month except for small areas in Wyoming and southern South Dakota. The lower basin saw a mix of above- and below-normal precipitation.
The annual runoff forecast above Sioux City is 111% of average (28.5 MAF). At the end of July the reservoir level at the Oahe Dam at Pierre and Fort Pierre was 1603.7 feet, which is down ½ a foot from June 30.
The six mainstem power plants generated 877 million kWh of electricity in July, down 79,000 kWh from the typical July energy generation of 956 million kWh. The power plants are expected to generate 7.8 billion kWh of electricity this year, 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 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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