The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reducing releases from the Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams on the Missouri River starting Thursday. The Corps is reminding duck hunters to check their decoys, and river users to plan for lower levels. Navigators also may need to make adjustments.

Releases will be reduced by approximately 3,000 cubic feet per second in a stair-step manner during a four-day period, which will lower the river stage roughly 2 to 3 feet. “The Corps is reducing releases because our planned evacuation of stored floodwater, which began in September, is ahead of schedule, and actual runoff is lower than forecasted,” explains Jody Farhat, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.

The reduced releases will not impact municipal or industrial water intakes because the river will still be higher than the average November flows of 28,700 cfs from Fort Randall Dam, and 31,000 cfs from Gavins Point Dam. The lower river levels may help improve drainage of farmland in this reach.

Higher releases at the four lower dams on the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System were implemented in September to evacuate above normal runoff, thus reducing future flood risk.

Additional precipitation, lack of precipitation, or other circumstances could cause adjustments to the reservoir release rates.