Gavins Point Dam
A report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finds runoff into the Missouri River reservoir system is increasing, but it’s still well within the flood capacity.
Nicole Shorney, a hydraulic engineer with the Corps’ Omaha office, says parts of the region are seeing some flooding, but nothing too severe. “The 2017 calendar year runoff forecast is 29.7-million acre feet or 117% of average,” Shorney says. “Based on this runoff forecast, the May 1 system storage, the tributary project storage and Plate 6/1 in the Master Manual, the service level adjustment of 5,000 CFS that was made in April will continue through May.”
Corps engineer Joel Knofczynski says they have adequate space for all the predicted runoff. Knofczynski says releases from Gavins Point Dam are being adjusted due to downstream flooding.
“Gavins Point releases averaged 28,500 cubic feet per second in April,” Knofczynski says. “In early May, releases were reduced to 21,000 CFS for several days to lessen downstream flooding. As downstream flows recede, releases will be increased to about 34,000 CFS by around mid-May.” The Corps’ monthly report shows mountain snowpack runoff into the basin is now peaking.
(By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton)