The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing to cut releases from Gavins Point Dam to winter levels.
Jody Farhat is chief of the Omaha District’s Water Management Division. She says right now, releases from Gavins Point are 30,000 cubic feet per second. As the Missouri River navigation season ends, those releases will be gradually reduced until they reach 12,000 cubic feet per second. Farhat says the winter releases are one area the Corps will watch closely as the 2014 runoff season approaches.
"The other thing we're watching closely is the wet conditions that have developed in the upper basin over the fall. We'll be going in to this winter with wet soil conditions, so we'll be watching the snow pack in the mountains and the Plains to see what our runoff conditions will be in the spring."
The Corps is currently working on the 2014 Annual Operating Plan. Friday is the last day public comments will be taken on that plan. Farhat says it’ll be released next month.