Last week, the United States Army Corps of Engineers said it would increase the amount of water flowing through Gavins Point Dam into the Missouri River to "maintain available flood control storage space." On Monday, they said the flow will be decreased to protect ongoing levy repair operations further down the river.
The Corps says changes in the amount of water being released will continue as it looks ahead at the possibility of future flooding.
“Releases are going to fluctuate frequently this year as part of our aggressive strategy to maintain as much flood control storage as possible for as long as possible," said John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Because we expect there to be frequent release changes, I encourage all interested parties to monitor National Weather Service river forecasts, Missouri River Water Management reports and set up weather alerts for the most up-to-date weather and river information."
Last week, the Corps said the flow was increased to 38,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) instead of the intended level of 41,000 cfs "due to increased downstream runoff joining the Missouri River after Gavins Point Dam." On Tuesday, the release will be scaled back to 35,000 cfs.
