The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, releases the Final Annual Operating Plan yesterday.
‘The Final Annual Operating Plan for 2012 addresses a number of the concerns expressed by stakeholders at the fall public meetings including an emphasis on flood risk reduction and improved communication ,’ said Jody Farhat , Chief of the Water Management Division . The AOP also speaks to the recommendations of the independent review panel which released its report in December.
As part of efforts to communicate more frequently and more broadly with stakeholders in the Missouri River basin during 2012, the Corps holds the first of its twice monthly informational conference calls. The call is geared toward Congressional delegations, Tribes, state, county and local officials and the media.
The general format of the call will include an update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) on the long-range temperature and precipitation outlooks for the Missouri River Basin. The Missouri River Basin Water Management Division will follow with a report of the current basin conditions, forecast inflows, and current and forecast reservoir release plans. The Corps’ Omaha and Kansas City Districts will also provide an update on the status of levee and other repairs following the 2011 flood.
Month of December yielded above average runoff.
Warmer than normal temperatures throughout the basin inhibited ice formation during the month of December, which allowed the rivers to flow freely and resulted in above average runoff. Runoff into the system during December totaled 1.4 million acre feet (MAF), 185 percent of normal above Sioux City, Iowa. Despite the above normal runoff, the Corps completed the evacuation of all 2011 flood waters in December. System storage is currently at 56.7 MAF, 0.1 MAF below the base of the annual flood control zone.
In early December, the Corps maintained releases from Gavins Point dam at 40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) a week longer than initially planned as part of its flexible release stance in an effort to create additional storage in the system for 2012. The Corps had planned to reduce Gavins Point.
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Dredging Today Staff, January 6, 2012; Image: usace