Water Management Monthly News Release

OMAHA – Adjustments to releases at the big Missouri River dams will be made this month to start positioning the reservoirs for hydropower generation this winter and to capture the runoff from melting snow on the plains and in the mountains next spring.

Releases will be reduced from both Fort Peck and Garrison this month as irrigation below the dams comes to an end. But, because of local runoff, the two reservoirs will remain essentially level at current elevations throughout September. The level at Oahe will continue its annual drawdown to position it to capture next year’s runoff.

“Operation of the main stem projects has returned to normal,” said Jody Farhat, Chief of the Water Management office here. “The adjustment of releases and movement of water among the reservoirs is normal for this time of the year. Because of their shear volume, we need to begin making adjustments now to be ready for events many months away.”

The current forecast for runoff this year is 33.4 million acre feet (MAF), 135 percent of average. If the forecast verifies, the level of Fort Peck will peak near 2222 feet by the end of the year. Oahe crested near 1614 feet in June and Garrison at 1842.6 feet in August. Storage peaked in the system of reservoirs at 57.9 MAF in July. It is currently 57.1 MAF

Flow support for the commercial navigation season will end Nov. 30 at the mouth, just north of St. Louis. This is the first year since 2001 that a full 8-month navigation season has been supported.

A series of public meetings will be conducted in October to review and comment on the draft 2009-2010 Annual Operating Plan. It shows improved service to all authorized purposes as a result of the dramatic increase in system storage this year. There will be presentations on this year’s operation of the dams and reservoirs and what is planned for next year. There will be opportunities to comment on the draft plan and ask questions about current and future operations. The draft Annual Operating Plan will be available in mid-September in the Reports and Publications section of the Water Management website; http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc.

The meeting schedule is:

Oct 5 Nebraska City, Neb. 7 p.m. Lewis & Clark Center, 100 Valmont Drive
Oct 6 Kansas City, Mo. 1 p.m. Embassy Suites, 7460 NW Tiffany Springs Pkwy
Oct 6 Jefferson City, Mo. 7 p.m. Capitol Plaza, 415 McCarty St.
Oct 7 Fort Peck, Mont. 1 p.m. Fort Peck Interpretative Center
Oct 7 Bismarck, N.D. 7 p.m. Kelly Inn, 1800 N. 12th
Oct 8 Fort Pierre, S.D. 11 a.m. AmericInn Hotel, 312 Island Drive

Gavins Point releases averaged 27,300 cfs in August. The long-term average is 34,600 cfs. Releases will average 31,000 cfs in September.

Fort Randall releases averaged 25,600 cfs in August. They will be adjusted this month as necessary to maintain Gavins Point reservoir near its desired elevation. Fort Randall reservoir remained essentially level in August, ending near elevation 1354.6 feet. It is expected to remain near its current elevation this month. Its annual drawdown to provide space for winter hydropower generation at Oahe and Big Bend will begin in October.

Big Bend reservoir will remain in its normal range of 1420 to 1421 feet. Releases will be adjusted to meet hydropower needs.

Oahe releases in August averaged 25,600 cfs and will average 30,400 cfs in September to provide downstream flow support. The reservoir ended August at elevation 1610.7 feet, down 1.7 feet from July. It is still about 3 feet into the flood pool. The reservoir is beginning its annual drawdown to position it to capture next year’s spring runoff. It will fall about 3 feet in September, ending the month near elevation 1607.7 feet. This is 6.3 feet above its normal elevation for this time of the year. The reservoir is currently 18.3 feet higher than it was last year at this time.

Garrison reservoir remained essentially level in August, ending at elevation 1842.2 feet. Releases averaged 16,000 cfs during the month, compared to the long-term average of 24,100 cfs. They will be reduced from 16,000 cfs to 12,500 cfs over two days beginning September 19. The reservoir is expected to remain nearly level this month, ending at 1842 feet. This is 4.6 feet above normal for this time of the year. It is currently 4.7 feet into its flood pool and 16.7 feet higher than a year ago.

Fort Peck reservoir remained level in August, ending at elevation 2220.4 feet msl. Releases averaged 6,500 cfs, compared to the long-term average of 10,000 cfs. They will be cut from 6,500 cfs to 4,000 cfs on September 16. The reservoir will remain level this month, ending at elevation 2220.4 feet, 10.4 feet below normal. It is currently more than 11 feet higher than last year at this time.

The six main stem power plants generated 781 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity in August, only 78 percent of normal because of reduced releases from the dams. This is significantly higher than the last two years when generation was less than half of normal. Total energy production for 2009 is forecast to total 6.9 billion kWh, compared to the average of 10 billion kWh.

View daily and forecasted reservoir and river information on the Water Management section of the Northwestern Division homepage at http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc.

	Pool Elevation  (ft msl)		Water in Storage - 1,000 acre-feet
	On August 31	Change in August	On August 31	% of 1967-2008 Average	Change in August
Fort Peck	2220.4	-0.1	12,135	81	-18
Garrison	1842.2	-0.0	19,599	106	-11
Oahe	1610.7	-1.7	19,865	113	-562
Big Bend	1420.3	+0.0	1,640	96	-0
Fort Randall	1354.6	-0.3	3,501	95	-27
Gavins Point	1206.8	-0.1	361	86	-3
			57,101	100	-621

	Average Release in 1,000 cfs	Releases in 1,000 af	Generation in 1,000 MWh
Fort Peck	6.5	399	62
Garrison	16.0	987	154
Oahe	25.6	1,572	242
Big Bend	23.1	1,422	86
Fort Randall	25.6	1,571	164
Gavins Point	27.3	1,679	73
			781