Higher-than-average releases from all dams on the Missouri River will continue through the fall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday.
The Corps announced last month it would reduce releases following heavy rains and runoff in southeastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa.
“Due to this year’s high runoff and the water currently being stored in the reservoirs, releases will remain near 58,000 cubic feet per second for the remainder of the navigation season to ensure evacuation of all stored flood waters prior to the 2019 runoff season with much of that occurring before the river freezes over in the northern reaches,” John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, said in a news release.
Remus said reservoir releases will be adjusted as necessary to provide downstream flood risk reduction and continue evacuation of stored flood water.
Winter releases from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota will be at least 17,000 cfs.
Weekly updates on basin conditions, reservoir levels and other topics of interest can be viewed at nwdmr.usace.army.mil/rcc/reports/pdfs/weeklyupdate.pdf.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Missouri River in Jefferson City was at 13.8 feet and was expected to stay around that level through early next week, according to the National Weather Service.