By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Though
drought conditions have eased in the Midwest, drought persists in the upper
Missouri River basin, prompting the Army Corps of Engineers to keep water releases
from the Gavins Point Dam at a minimum.
Chief
of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, John
Remus, says there is a big difference between conditions in the lower Missouri
River basin and the upper basin.
“Primarily Nebraska, parts of Kansas, and of
course here in Missouri, they’ve kind of come out of drought,” Remus tells
KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “The upper basin, however, is kind of, we thought we were
going to have some improvements, but it went back into drought.”
The Corps of Engineers reports 73% of the
Missouri River Basin is experiencing dry or drought conditions with little reason
for optimism that that will turn around anytime soon.
“Based on the soil conditions and the long-term
outlook from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), I think we’re
probably going to have another dry spring unless we get a lot of snow in the
mountains and a lot of snow in the plains,” Remus says. “But they’re not
calling for that. I believe we’re going to be in a very similar situation to begin
2025 as we were this year in 2024.”
Remus understands minimum water releases puts
pressure on cities, businesses, and utilities that rely on the Missouri River.
“Right now, we’re looking at a winter release of 12,000
cubic feet per second out of Gavins Point, which is very similar to what we had
in the winter of 2022, ’23,” says Remus. “So there are going to be some
municipal intakes in the lower river here that are going to be right at the
margin of having some issues with getting water in.”
Remus says though conditions in the upper
Missouri River basin improved earlier this year, dry conditions up north sent much
of the upper basin back into abnormally dry or drought conditions. Remus says
the Corps of Engineers will keep those relying on the Missouri River abreast of
what releases to expect from Gavins Point.
