August Runoff Well Below Normal

August runo 4in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, was 1.0 million acre-feet, 73 percent of average. Runo 5was well below normal in the Fort Peck and Garrison reaches due to dry soil moisture conditions and areas of below-normal precipitation. Runo 5was above normal for the Oahe, Fort Randall, and Gavins Point reaches, and near normal in the Sioux City reach, mostly due to above-normal precipitation during parts of August.

“August runo 4was higher than forecast in the lower reaches of the upper Missouri River Basin above Sioux City due to late summer rainfall. In addition, rainfall below Gavins Point allowed the System reservoirs to maintain lower release rates while meeting the reduced navigation flow targets at all downstream locations,” said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.

The U.S. Drought Monitor indicates that over 83 percent of the Missouri River Basin is abnormally dry or in drought conditions.

The Fort Peck release will be maintained at 7,000 cfs during the fall months and into early winter.