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  • Dry Conditions expected to persist for the Missouri River Basin

    The 2021 calendar year runoff summation for the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa was 15.2 million acre-feet, 59% of average. The ongoing drought shows no relief in sight and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is predicting runoff into the mainstem reservoir system will remain below normal. This was the 10th lowest annual runoff for the Missouri River Basin in 123 years of record-keeping.

  • Gavins Point Dam releases reduced to winter release rate

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began reducing the Gavins Point releases to the winter release rate on Nov. 23, marking the end of flow support for the 2021 Missouri River navigation season. “Releases from Gavins Point Dam are being reduced to the winter release of 12,000 cubic feet per second,” said John Remus, Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Releases from Gavins Point are currently 13,000 cfs and we will slowly reduce releases to 12,000 by December 8. We will closely monitor river conditions, and releases will be adjusted this winter as needed to lessen the impacts of river ice formation on stages in the lower river.”

  • St. Paul District assists Kansas City District with Dredge Goetz on Missouri River

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, collaborated with the St. Paul District, of the Mississippi Valley Division, to bring the Dredge Goetz onto the Missouri River from late October through early November 2021 to participate in a pilot project to dredge sediment that had created shallow areas in the shipping channel.

  • Gavins Point Dam releases to be reduced in late November

    “We will continue to make releases from Gavins Point Dam to provide flow support at an intermediate service level, 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) less than full service, through the end of the navigation flow support season,” said John Remus, chief of the USACE, Missouri River Water Management Division.

  • Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee to hold fall plenary session in Omaha, Nebraska

    The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) will hold a plenary session November 16-18 in Omaha, Nebraska. The meeting will be at the Embassy Suites Hotel beginning at 8 a.m., Tuesday, November 16, and concluding at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, November 18. The draft MRRIC meeting agenda can be found online at https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/mrrp/mrric/. MRRIC has not met since November 2019 due to the COVID pandemic.

  • USACE seeks public comment on Environmental Assessment for Sweet Grass County restoration, protection project

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District is seeking public comment on a draft environmental assessment for the Sweet Grass County flood damage restoration and surface water resource protection project in Montana. The proposed project includes replacing the Melville Road wood bridge with a new modular steel bridge, improving the Melville Road concrete bridge by removing an abandoned concrete abutment, and replacing the Big Timber Canyon Road bridge with a concrete box culvert.

  • Dry conditions persist in Upper Missouri River Basin; Public meetings set for Oct. 25-29

    September precipitation was once again below average in the Missouri River Basin. September runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa (upper Basin) was 0.8 million acre-feet, 67% of the long-term average. Soil conditions in the upper Basin continue to be very dry. According to the Drought Mitigation Center, approximately 88% of the Missouri River basin is currently experiencing some form of abnormally dry conditions or drought, which is a 6% increase from the end of August.

  • Winter Gavins Point releases will be at minimum rates

    Updated: Fort Peck release reductions was incorrectly reported as Sept 6 and has been corrected to Sept. 16. Drought conditions, particularly in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa (upper Basin), are persisting. Per the Master Manual and the Sept. 1 System storage check, winter releases from Gavins Point Dam will be 12,000 cubic feet per second, as part of the overall water conservation measures. “Reservoir inflows in August were much lower than average. We expect below-average inflows into the System through the rest of 2021,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.

  • Drought conditions persist in the upper Missouri River Basin

    Drought conditions continue to impact the upper Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa (upper Basin). July runoff in the upper Basin was 34% of average. July runoff above Fort Peck Dam was the lowest in 123 years of record-keeping. The updated 2021 upper Basin runoff forecast is 14.6 million acre-feet (MAF), 57% of average. If realized, this runoff amount would be the 10th driest year in the upper Basin since 1898. System storage on August 1 was 53.9 MAF, 2.2 MAF below the base of the Annual Flood Control and Multiple Use Zone. System storage is expected to decline further into the Carryover Multiple Use Zone during the remainder of 2021.

  • USACE implements drought conservation measures

    Water conservation measures were enacted for the second half of the navigation flow support season based on the July 1 Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System storage, per the guidelines outlined in the Master Manual. Very dry conditions continue to impact the upper Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, IA (upper Basin) despite recent heavy rainfall in the lower Basin. As a result of the low precipitation and widespread drought conditions, June runoff in the upper Basin was 52% of average. The updated 2021 upper Basin runoff forecast is 15.6 million acre-feet (MAF), 60% of average. If realized, this runoff amount would be the 10th driest year in the upper Basin since 1898. System storage on July 1 was 55.2 MAF, 0.9 MAF below the base of the Annual Flood Control and Multiple Use Zone. System storage is expected to decline further into the Carryover Multiple Use Zone during the remainder of 2021.