The Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday it would open up the floodgates at Gavins Point Dam a little more: increasing releases to 160,000 cubic feet per second by Thursday. Authorities blame heavy rains across South Dakota and Nebraska within the last week, as much as six inches in some areas.
The additional water is expected to increase the river stages anywhere from six to nine inches in St Joseph. Levels will increase about four inches ( .3 to .4 of a foot) from Omaha to Rulo, Nebraska.
Estimates for Kansas City will go up by more than eight inches (.7 of a foot).
The Corps and the National Weather Service are updating their prediction models, and all future estimates by both agencies will include the new flows.
The National Weather Service reports the actual stages will depend on inflows from tributaries. They estimate four to five days before the additional water arrives. Officials say levee problems upstream could slow down the water’s progress.
Officials say a large heavy rain system impacted much of South Dakota and northern Nebraska over the last week, with as much as six inches of rain in some areas. The heavy rain resulted in high inflows into the Oahe, Big Bend, and Randall Reservoirs in additional to Gavins Point.
The releases at Gavins Point are expected to rise to 155,000 cfs by Wednesday to the new peak of 160,000 cfs on Thursday June 23rd. Releases are expected to continue at the new peak through August.
About two hundred people turned out Tuesday evening to a meeting at Saint James Catholic Church, 5814 King Hill Avenue. The gathering featured a Q&A with two representatives of the Corps of Engineers, Josh Marx, a natural disaster program manager for the Corps, and Eric Shumate, Chief of Water Management for the Kansas City District. They were joined by levee district managers, firefighters, senatorial aides and the Red Cross.
Marx painted an optimistic picture despite the increasing severity of the coming flood.
“We are well prepared,” he said, “the levees are in good shape.”
Marx held his ground on the cause of the current flooding, pointing to historic snow melt and historic rainfall in the upper basin. “Historic precipitation is what put us where we are today.”
Hydrologist Eric Shumate defended operation of the levees since last year’s historic rain events in the region, and said they went by the book.
“Upstream reservoirs have been managed per the Master Manual. ”
“They’ve been monitoring conditions closely, they made adjustments as necessary, and continue to monitor conditions and make adjustments, and evaluate, daily.”
They fielded questions ranging on subjects ranging from relief wells at Lake Contrary to rumors of dramatically higher releases at Gavins Point.
The levee board president from the south side clarified activities near Lake Contrary. A reporter filled in the blanks on a persistent flood insurance question. And an aide to U.S. Senator Roy Blunt says Blunt is in favor of re-opening the Master Manual to further scrutiny in Congress.
We have the introduction and opening remarks from Josh Marx of the Army Corps of Engineers: