Storage pool elevations are rising at dams on the Missouri River System because two to five inches of rain has fallen across the river basin in South Dakota and Nebraska over the past week.
The US Army Corps of Engineers says to counter the flows into the Oahe, Big Bend, Fort Randall and Gavins Point Dams, they plan to increase releases from Gavins Point Dam to 60,000 cfs starting today (May 23).
The Corps’ three week forecast shows the Oahe reservoir entering the exclusive flood control pool Saturday (May 25). Releases from Oahe are scheduled to increase to 42,000 cfs on Monday (May 27). The forecast shows releases from Big Bend averaging about 50,000 cfs.
As of this morning, the Oahe pool elevation is 1616.3 feet, down a tenth of a foot in the past day. Inflows are 72,000 cfs while releases are 28,600 cfs. The reservoir at Big Bend is up two-tenths of a foot at 1421.2 feet. Inflows are 60,000 cfs and outflows are 48,900 cfs.
Chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division John Remus says additional precipitation, lack of precipitation or other circumstances could cause adjustments to the reservoir release rates. He says releases will remain higher than average into the fall because the reservoirs have to be at the base of the annual flood control pool by the beginning of the 2020 runoff season.
The National Weather Service issues official stage forecasts for the Missouri River and the public should monitor their nearest upstream gage as fluctuations to river stages will occur with regional precipitation along the rivers and creeks that join the Missouri River downstream from Gavins Point Dam. More information about releases and river stages downstream from Gavins Point Dam is available here http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/reports/pdfs/GRFT.pdf and from the National Weather Service, Missouri Basin River Forecast Center https://www.weather.gov/mbrfc/.
