September precipitation was well-below normal in the Missouri River Basin and that resulted in runoff in the upper basin above Sioux City to be just 69% of average.
Since January 1st, precipitation in the upper Basin is well-below normal.
The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting that below-normal precipitation will continue through October.
John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division says releases from Gavins Point Dam are being made to meet full service Missouri River navigation flow targets.
The current release rate is 32,500 cubic feet of water per second from Gavins Point Dam.
Gavins Point releases will be reduced to winter levels of around 17,000 cfs beginning around Nov. 22.
The 2020 calendar year runoff forecast for the upper Basin is now 30.2 million acre-feet, 117% of the average annual runoff of 25.8.
