THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR INDICATES THAT OVER 83% OF THE MISSOURI RIVER BASIN IS ABNORMALLY DRY OR IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
RUNOFF IN THE UPPER BASIN IS FORECAST TO BE WELL-BELOW AVERAGE, ESPECIALLY IN THE FORT PECK AND GARRISON REACHES.
JOHN REMUS, CHIEF OF THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS’ MISSOURI RIVER BASIN WATER MANAGEMENT DIVISION, SAYS THE UPDATED 2026 CALENDAR YEAR FORECAST FOR THE UPPER BASIN IS 15.4 MILLION ACRE FEET, 60% OF AVERAGE.
THE AVERAGE ANNUAL RUNOFF FOR THE UPPER BASIN IS 25.7 M-A-F.
THE AUGUST RUNOFF IN THE MISSOURI RIVER BASIN ABOVE SIOUX CITY, IOWA WAS 1.0 MILLION ACRE-FEET, 73% OF AVERAGE.
RUNOFF WAS ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE OAHE, FORT RANDALL, AND GAVINS POINT REACHES, AND NEAR NORMAL IN THE SIOUX CITY REACH, MOSTLY DUE TO ABOVE-NORMAL PRECIPITATION DURING PARTS OF AUGUST.
AUGUST RUNOFF WAS HIGHER THAN FORECAST IN THE LOWER REACHES OF THE UPPER MISSOURI RIVER BASIN ABOVE SIOUX CITY DUE TO LATE SUMMER RAINFALL.
IN ADDITION, RAINFALL BELOW GAVINS POINT ALLOWED THE SYSTEM RESERVOIRS TO MAINTAIN LOWER RELEASE RATES WHILE MEETING THE REDUCED NAVIGATION FLOW TARGETS AT ALL DOWNSTREAM LOCATIONS
GAVINS POINT DAM WILL PROVIDE NAVIGATION FLOW SUPPORT AT THE MINIMUM-SERVICE LEVEL THROUGH THE END OF THE NAVIGATION SEASON AT ALL FOUR TARGET LOCATIONS (SIOUX CITY, OMAHA, NEBRASKA CITY, AND KANSAS CITY).
THE FLOW SUPPORT SEASON LENGTH WILL BE SHORTENED, ENDING NOVEMBER 15 AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER.
KSCJ file photo
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