The level of the Missouri River around Sioux City will remain higher than normal for this time of year for awhile.
That’s because of higher than normal runoff during the late summer and fall.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says releases from Yankton’s Gavins Point Dam will remain near 31,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) for the first half of November and then increased to 32,000 cfs.
Releases will be held at that rate until late November and then stepped down approximately 3,000 cfs each day until they reach the winter release rate of around 17,000.
The corps says higher winter releases will provide additional hydropower generation during the winter, one of the peak power demand periods.
It will also benefit municipal and industrial water intakes below Gavins Point Dam, which can be impacted by low water levels during periods of ice formation.
