Archived Story

April runoff down in Missouri system
Posted on May 11
By the ASSOCIATED PRESS

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Runoff into the three upper Missouri River reservoirs was only 33 percent of normal in April and the level of all three lakes fell, the Army Corps of Engineers said.

There was little rain in the Dakotas or Montana and cool weather slowed the melting of mountain snowpack, the corps said.

Those factors made it hard to maintain or raise water levels during the spawn of bait fish in Fort Peck, Garrison and Oahe reservoirs. Fort Peck is in Montana, Garrison in North Dakota and Oahe in South Dakota.

Each reservoir fell about half a foot in April. Garrison and Oahe are each expected to rise about 2 feet in May, and Fort Peck will rise by 1½ feet, the corps said.

The corps expects May-ending water levels to be 30 feet below normal in Fort Peck, 26 feet below normal in Garrison, and 20 feet below normal in Oahe.

Average releases from the system were an all-time record low in 2007 because of drought conservation measures and high downstream inflow. Corps officials expect releases will continue to be much-below average this year, to save water in reservoirs.
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