http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/jun/20/river-flow-might-increase/
JEFFERSON CITY - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers might add to the already record-setting releases from Gavins Point Dam that are toppling levees on the Missouri River, the commander of the Corps' Northwest Division said today.
Rocky Mountain snows are melting at a moderate pace, but the snowpack is far larger than usual, and storms continue to bring rain to the Upper Missouri Basin, Brig. Gen. John McMahon told a crowd of about 100 farmers, levee district representatives and politicians.
McMahon was joined by U.S. Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican from St. Elizabeth, and Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Harrisonville, as well as Col. Tony Hoffman, commander of the Kansas City district office.
One big rain that washes snow off the mountains could prompt the corps to increase releases, McMahon said. The corps is releasing water at a rate of 150,000 cubic feet per second, more than double the previous record. That release rate is enough to keep the river at flood stage at Boonville. The release rate will continue through August, McMahon said.
The Missouri River is regulated by six dams in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. The corps was ready for a high amount of runoff but could not predict the storms that in May dumped a year's worth of rain on Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.
The 54.5 million acre-feet of runoff was the largest, by far, ever encountered, McMahon said. That overwhelmed the normal flood control portion of the reservoirs of 16.3 million acre-feet of water.
"It took all our flexibility away," McMahon said.
While the extreme releases are breaching levees in Iowa and northwest Missouri, the impact from Kansas City to St. Louis will be determined by the weather.
"The greatest threat I see as we go forward this summer is the very unpredictable rains on the tributaries that flow into the Missouri River," McMahon said.
Hartsburg farmer Terry Hilgedick told McMahon he believed the corps should have acted earlier to increase releases from the dams. While the snow and runoff piled up, he said, the corps kept releases from Gavins Point at a steady 21,000 cubic feet per second from January through April.
"I have been watching this all winter," Hilgedick said. "How did you arrive at 21,000 when you knew you had a much larger snowpack and much larger projections for runoff?"
The corps was ready for the snowpack and ready for normal rain, McMahon replied. "We had everything in place to accommodate the snowpack. What we didn't have in place was space for the unprecedented rain. That took away the flexibility and is now the culprit in this story."
Luetkemeyer and Hartzler helped spur the meeting with a news release calling for McMahon to meet with landowners.
Neither criticized the corps for this year's river management.
"I think they have done the best they could given the circumstances," Luetkemeyer said.
Some in the audience suggested it is time to revise the Missouri River Master Manual, which controls corps management of the river. McMahon said that is being considered but noted the last revision took 14 years.
Hartzler said that would be too long for benefits this year and in upcoming years. The corps should look at flexibility under the manual to change the way it manages the river in high flow years, she said.
"It is time for them to look at the handling of the system," she said.
|