In what will be become at least a semi-regular feature here on CSW will be daily Missouri River basin U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir readings from the six Pick-Sloan dams located in the Dakotas and Montana.
The first graphic (click on image for full size) is from June 13- showing the reservoir information that morning.
As a key- under 'Project Information' are the capacities of each reservoir referring to the dam/reservoir's elevation above sea level.
MP means the mininum power pool or a normal lake level- FC means flood control of the maximum height the reservoir can hold before water goes over the emergency spillways (called an "uncontrolled release").
Current data shows the reservoirs actual level at the time of observation- acre-feet of the lake's surface- inflow to the lake/reservoir and discharge out the dam's control structures/spillway.
The last figure in each project- probably the figure most telling- is the percentage of flood control capacity left in that particular reservoir/lake.
Check CSW daily for the latest readings or click HERE for the direct USACE report- usually issued around 9 a.m. CDT.
Take good note of the first project listed- Fort Peck dam in eastern Montana- the first and largest reservoir on the upper Missouri's system.
Note the percentage OVER flood control capacity on June 13- then today's reading (June 16).
Bear in mind as well- that the great majority of the above-average snowfall in Fort Peck's basin is still unmelted.
2 comments:
Thank YOU so much for sharing wisdom on reading this chart! It really assisted me. I live in Nebraska with the two nuke power plants and flowing and have a blog attempting to share information about the Missouri River Reservoir System with dams and reservoirs named "lakes"!! No one can understand the whole US Army corp of engineers with the Missouri flooding.
You are quite welcome Cave Editor and the nice words are much appreciated.
I did study some foreign languages- including "Corpsspeak." ;)
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