Releases from Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota into the Missouri River will remain steady through August, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced this week.
The Corps plans to maintain Gavins Point Dam releases at 30,000 cubic feet per second.
"Reservoir inflows in July have been declining due to the warmer and drier conditions in the upper basin," John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, said in a news release. "The 2020 calendar year runoff forecast has been reduced slightly, due to this declining inflow in July. However, the runoff forecast still remains above average due to wet soil conditions in North Dakota and South Dakota, and the increased long term chance for precipitation indicated by the National Weather Service's climate outlook."
Soils continue to dry out in the upper Missouri River basin due to below-normal precipitation and warmer-than-normal temperatures in Montana and Wyoming. Drought conditions, based on the National Drought Mitigation Center Drought Monitor, have intensified in areas of both the upper and lower basin.
On Friday, the National Weather Service in St. Louis reported the Missouri River in Jefferson City was at 13.4 feet and was expected to fall to 12 feet Sunday.