There has been a lot of criticism lobbed at the Army Corps of Engineers over their handling of releases from dams along the Missouri River. The Corps issued a a pair of news releases over the weekend to answer some of those critics.
Brigadier General John R. McMahon points out that the Corps has been following the Missouri River Master Manual, as approved by Congress since the “game changer,” the prolonged heavy rains received in Montana and the Dakotas since mid-May.
General McMahon says “…there is no doubt that the Missouri River will be a changed river following these historic flows.”
The Master Manual was updated in 2004 after a 14-year review, following a major drought. It was updated again in 2006 to protect several endangered species downstream. McMahon says continuing periodic reviews of the Master Manual will provide yet another opportunity to solicit feedback from the public about their operations.
Colonel Robert Ruch, Commander of the USACE Omaha District, says the dams on the Upper Missouri are fully functional and operating as designed.
Ruch says “…the system is protecting the public from unregulated flows. Unregulated flows – which occur when flood waters flow uncontrolled in a spillway — would result in significantly more damage. There is no evidence to suggest an emergency situation at any of our dams, and all projects are operating within their design parameters.”
Here are both news releases in their entirety, plus a pair of photographs released by the Corps of damage to a levee near Hamburg, Iowa, and the response by the National Guard. You are urged to call the Joint Information Center with questions at (402) 996-3877 or go to the Corps’ website at http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/
For Release: Sunday, June 12, 2011
Contact: Missouri River Joint Information Center
(402) 996-3877
[email protected]
Brigadier General McMahon: Master Manual guides regulation of Missouri River
We’ve been fighting the Flood of 2011 for nearly three weeks now. Throughout the basin, the losses to families and communities have been heart-wrenching and our hearts go out to all who have been impacted by this unfortunate and unprecedented event.
One of the most frequently asked questions we get in our call center is, “Why didn’t the Corps evacuate floodwaters sooner?” Simply put, the answer to that question is, “We did.” At the beginning of the runoff season we had the full capacity of our flood risk reduction storage available to us. The game-changer has been the prolonged, heavy rains we have received in Montana and in the Dakotas since mid-May.
The Missouri River main stem reservoir system, which spans 1770 miles and includes six dams and reservoirs, provides flood risk reduction for communities from Fort Peck, Mont. to St. Louis, Mo. It is operated in accordance with the Missouri River Master Manual. The Master Manual includes a water control plan that helps guide how much water should be released, when, and for how long from the six reservoirs. It is based on hydrology models that consider variables like volume, timing, and the shape of snow and rainfall runoff, and is based on more than 100 years of historical runoff records (1898-2004).
In 1989, the Corps initiated a review of the Missouri River Master Manual in response to the first major drought the Basin had experienced since the system was built and the needs of communities along the River. Re-opening the manual provided an opportunity for the public to voice their views on how the Missouri River should be operated. It was a 14-year journey of study and debate on the long-term management of the river. The review entailed extensive and thorough scientific research and hundreds of public meetings. We received thousands of comments from various stakeholders, Congressional and State representatives, Tribes, interest groups and members of the general public throughout the basin.
The Master Manual was updated in 2004. The water control plan in the manual provides for the Corps to serve the purposes for which Congress authorized construction of the system. These purposes include flood control, navigation, water supply, water quality, hydropower, irrigation, recreation, and fish and wildlife. The Corps strives to balance operation of the system to serve these purposes. For the past year, the Corps has been operating the System solely for Missouri River flood risk reduction.
As required by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, during the course of the Master Manual Review and Update, the Corps consulted with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In its 2003 Amended Biological Opinion, the Service concluded that the Corps’ operation of the system jeopardized the continued existence of the endangered pallid sturgeon and two bird species. However, the service provided an alternative to jeopardy that allows the Corps to continue to serve all of the authorized purposes. In addition to several other elements, this alternative included modifications in reservoir releases.
In 2006, the Master Manual was again updated to reflect these flow modifications. In accordance with the criteria in the manual, and in compliance with the Endangered Species Act, at no time during the past year has the system been operated for endangered or other native or introduced species. Our priority has been flood risk reduction.
Each fall, the Corps forecasts the regulation of the Missouri River main stem system with various runoff scenarios for the remainder of the current year, plus the following calendar year and publishes a draft Annual Operating Plan. We hold a series of public meetings in each state throughout the basin to solicit feedback on our planned operations. We use that input from the public when developing our Final Annual Operating Plan, which is typically finalized in December of every year.
During the spring, we hold another round of meetings to update the public on our operations. Public involvement and transparency are key components of our Annual Operating Plan. Further, monthly and weekly forecasts are completed as well as daily assessments.
These historic and unprecedented releases we have experienced in the basin have pushed us into unchartered territory with respect to releases. There is no doubt that the Missouri River will be a changed river following these historic flows. As the Corps conducts reviews of our emergency response efforts and management of the Missouri River during this historic flood event, we will be presented with yet another opportunity to solicit feedback from the public about our operations.
In the meantime, we remain committed to this flood fight. We’ve dispatched teams of experts all along the basin to construct temporary levees. We’ve issued millions of sandbags and numerous pumps to support local flood fight efforts, avoid loss of life, minimize damages and help impacted communities. We remain in close collaboration with city, county, state and federal agencies, the Tribes and Congressional representatives and we will continue to do everything in our ability to assist communities throughout the duration of the Flood of 2011.
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For Release: Saturday, June 11, 2011
By Col. Robert J. Ruch
Commander, Omaha District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is engaged in an epic flood fight. For the last few months, we have focused on managing heavy inflows caused by record snowpack and rainfall in the Upper Missouri River basin. On May 1, the Corps projected summer releases of 57,500 cubic feet per second from Gavins Point Dam and were on schedule to evacuate the runoff from the record snowpack.
Then storms dumped eight inches of rain over Montana and North Dakota and changed the entire scenario. We will be managing these and subsequent inflows for the next several months as record runoff surges through the main stem system.
As Commander of the Omaha District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, I assure you that we make public safety our number one priority. We are also intensely focused on providing the public with timely, accurate and useable information.
In today’s information age, we are confronted with reported assertions that are inaccurate and may induce fear and uncertainty without merit. Such assertions published and circulated in the past few weeks would have the public believe that the main stem dam system on the Upper Missouri could fail.
I disagree with those assertions.
I won’t lend unproven assertions any credence by repeating them or analyzing them point by point. I do, however, want the public to know this:
The dams on the Upper Missouri – Fort Peck, (Mont.), Garrison Dam (N.D.), Oahe Dam, Big Bend Dam, and Fort Randall Dam (all S.D.) and Gavins Point (S.D./Neb.) — are fully functional and operating as designed.
The system is protecting the public from unregulated flows. Unregulated flows – which occur when flood waters flow uncontrolled in a spillway — would result in significantly more damage. There is no evidence to suggest an emergency situation at any of our dams, and all projects are operating within their design parameters.
Public safety is paramount. As part of this responsibility, we long ago implemented a comprehensive dam safety program at each of our dams. We conduct daily, yearly and periodic (every 5 years) inspections, teaming with state dam safety agencies, Northwestern Division and other agencies to ensure the safety of these structures.
Our extensive instrumentation program allows us to closely monitor areas of interest such as seepage pressure and any minor movement. We’ve also re-evaluated seismic designs as the state of practice has evolved over recent decades. People need to remember that although our flood control storage is near capacity, dam functionality is not. There is no danger that any of our dams will be overtopped.
It is worth noting that all six dams have experienced similar pool levels several times over their service life. We make it standard operating procedure to increase the level of surveillance as water levels rise so that we can best manage the risks associated with dams of this size and importance. Our elevated surveillance on these dams has not revealed any significant issues or concerns regarding operation at these high pools and or record releases.
In closing, I have full confidence in the operational integrity of our main stem dams. Our dams are inspected and maintained on rigid schedules. Holding back volumes of water is what they were designed to do, and these structures have not only met but surpassed these expectations. We are respectful of these structures and pledge to remain vigilant to continually evaluate the performance and reliability of these projects into the future.
The Corps is 100 percent committed to this flood fight and we will continue to manage this record event on the river with public safety as our top priority. We will continue to use best engineering practices to manage the flood waters in the Missouri River main stem dam and reservoir system as the fight moves into summer.
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