OMAHA, Neb. (Iowa Media Wire) — Releases from Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams will be changing due to rain and inflows from the Niobrara River, officials said.
Releases from Gavins Point Dam are currently 24,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) and will remain at that rate until Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a Saturday release.
John Remus, chief of the Missouri Basin Water Management Division, said that by holding releases at 24,000 cfs, the Corps will “have more flexibility to manage releases as the inflows peak later in the week.”
The current pool elevation at Gavins Point is 1208.38 feet.
Inflows into Gavins Point are 35,000 cfs and are expected to increase significantly over the coming days.
Remus added the peak inflows are going to reach the dam later than originally forecast.
“Inflows from the Niobrara River are still higher than the current Gavins Point releases, which will result in increased pool elevations on Lewis and Clark Lake.”
Meanwhile, releases from Fort Randal have already been decreased as low as they can be, even have moments of zero releases.
“We continue to monitor inflows and will reduce releases, as we can without impacting safe operation of the Gavins Point project,” added Remus.
Officials announced Friday that they were lowering releases to help offset flooding. Releases were at 29,000 cfs Thursday morning before being lowered to 27,000 cfs. They were then lowered to 24,000 cfs Friday afternoon.