News Release
| Release Number: | 08-014 |
| Dated: | 9/8/2008 |
| Contact: | Paul T Johnston, 402-697-2552 |
OMAHA – Adjustments to the final weeks of the commercial navigation season on the Missouri River along with meetings to discuss plans for next year’s management plan are on tap as fall descends on the basin.
“There is no commercial navigation scheduled in September or October in the reach from Kansas City to Sioux City,” said Larry Cieslik, Chief of the Water Management office here. “Therefore, only downstream water supply requirements will be provided above Kansas City. Flow support for navigation from Kansas City to the mouth near St. Louis, Mo., will continue,” he said.
“Should downstream tributary flows increase substantially, releases from the reservoirs will be further reduced, resulting in lower river flows in the reach from Gavins Point Dam to Kansas City,” he added.
Runoff for 2008 is forecast to total 26 million acre feet (MAF). Normal is 25 MAF. The storage in the reservoirs dropped slightly in August, ending at 45 MAF.
Because reservoir storage remains lower than normal, only minimum service flows are being provided this year for navigation and other downstream uses. Based on the storage on July 1, the commercial navigation season will be shortened by 30 days. The last day of navigation flow support at Kansas City will be on Oct. 27, and Oct. 31 at the mouth of the river; just north of St. Louis.
Normally, the last day of the navigation season would be Nov. 30. Gavins Point releases will be reduced at 3,000 cfs per day beginning on Oct. 20 to end support for the navigation season. Releases will be reduced to the 9,000 cfs level or those required to allow downstream intakes to remain operational.
The draft Annual Operating Plan for 2009 and the remainder of 2008 will be released later this month. It will be available on the “Reports and Publications” section of the Water Management website at: www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/index.html. The draft plan will show continued drought conservation measures resulting in reduced navigation support, reduced hydropower generation, lower than desired reservoir levels, and spring pulses from Gavins Point in March and May.
Six public meetings on the draft AOP will be conducted in October:
Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Nebraska City, NE, 7 p.m., Lewis & Clark Center
Wednesday, Oct 15 – Kansas City, MO, 11 a.m., Embassy Suites Airport
Wednesday, Oct 15 – Jefferson City, MO, 7 p.m., Capitol Plaza Hotel
Thursday, Oct 16 – Fort Peck, MT, Noon, Fort Peck Interpretative Center
Thursday, Oct 16 – Bismarck, ND, 7 p.m., Radisson Hotel
Friday, Oct 17 – Pierre, SD, 11 a.m., Best Western Radisson Hotel
Gavins Point releases averaged 22,800 cubic feet per second (cfs) in August. They are expected to average 22,600 cfs in September, compared to the average 35,700 cfs. Releases will be adjusted as necessary if high downstream flows pose risks of lowland flooding.
Fort Randall releases averaged 21,900 cfs in August. They will be adjusted in September as necessary to maintain Gavins Point reservoir near its desired elevation. The Fort Randall reservoir level fell 4.4 feet in August and will fall an additional 7.5 feet this month on its way to 1337.5 feet in October. The reservoir is drawn down each fall to ready it to accept hydropower releases over the winter from Big Bend and Oahe dams.
Big Bend reservoir will remain in its normal range of 1420 to 1421 feet. Releases will be adjusted to meet hydropower needs.
Oahe reservoir fell 1.4 feet in August, ending at elevation 1592.5 feet msl. Releases in September will average 16,500 cfs, compared to the long-term average of 29,000 cfs. The reservoir continues its normal mid-summer decline this month, falling about a foot to end September at elevation 1591.5 feet msl. That is 8.5 feet below its normal elevation. The reservoir is currently nearly 12.4 feet higher than it was last year at this time.
Garrison reservoir remained essentially level in August, ending at elevation 1825.5 feet. Releases averaged 13,900 cfs during August, compared to the long-term average of 24,300 cfs. They will be reduced from the summer rate of 14,000 cfs to the fall rate of 11,000 cfs in mid-September The reservoir is expected to remain essentially level this month, ending at 1825.6 feet, 11 feet below normal. The reservoir is currently 10.9 feet higher than last year at this time.
Fort Peck reservoir fell slightly over half a foot in August, ending at elevation 2209.3 feet msl. Releases averaged 7,000 cfs, compared to the long-term average of 10,100 cfs. They will remain at 7,000 cfs through the third week of September and then dropped to the fall rate of 4,000 cfs. The reservoir will remain essentially level through the month, ending at elevation 2209.1 feet, 22.3 feet below normal. It is currently 8.4 feet higher than last year at this time.
The six main stem power plants generated 602 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in August, only 59 percent of normal because of lower pool levels and reduced releases from the dams. Total energy production for 2008 is forecasted to be 5.1 billion kWh, compared to the average of 10 billion kWh.