Fort Peck Lake in northeastern Montana has been a reservoir rising this spring with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now releasing water through the spillway’s floodgates for the first time since 1997. The release, which started with just a few gates, has been increasing and plans are to dump a whole lot of water into the Missouri River in the near future.
This report, from the National Weather Service in Glasgow, tells those downstream what to expect:
THE ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE RELEASES THIS WEEK FROM FORT PECK RESERVOIR. THE RELEASES WILL INCREASE TO 50000 CFS BY JUNE 6. THE MISSOURI RIVER EAST OF FORT PECK WILL BEGIN TO RISE SIGNIFICANTLY THIS WEEK.
AT WOLF POINT…THE MISSOURI RIVER IS FORECASTED TO RISE FROM THE CURRENT LEVEL OF 7.5 FEET ON MAY 30 TO BETWEEN 11 AND 12 FEET ON JUNE 4 OR 5 AND REACH THE FLOOD STAGE OF 13 FEET AROUND JUNE 6 OR 7. A PEAK WATER LEVEL OF 14 TO 15 FEET IS POSSIBLE SOMETIME NEXT WEEK DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL WATER FLOW FROM THE MILK RIVER CONTRIBUTES TO THE MISSOURI RIVER FLOW AT WOLF POINT.
AT CULBERTSON…THE MISSOURI RIVER IS FORECASTED TO RISE FROM THE CURRENT LEVEL OF 9.2 FEET ON MAY 30 TO NEAR 13 FEET ON JUNE 4 OR 5. A PEAK WATER LEVEL BETWEEN 16 AND 17 FEET IS POSSIBLE SOMETIME NEXT WEEK. FLOOD STAGE AT CULBERTSON IS 19 FEET. THE WATER LEVEL IS DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH WATER TRIBUTARIES TO THE MISSOURI RIVER INCLUDING THE MILK RIVER …RED WATER RIVER… POPLAR RIVER AND BIG MUDDY CREEK CONTRIBUTE TO THE MISSOURI RIVER FLOW AT CULBERTSON.
LOWLAND FLOODING IS LIKELY NEAR THE MISSOURI RIVER WITH THE UPCOMING HIGH WATER. PERSONS LIVING ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER SHOULD START PREPARING TO PROTECT PROPERTY THAT MAY FLOOD AND TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.
According to The Glasgow Courier, approximately 10,000 cfs is being release from the powerplant. The rest of this load will be through the spillway. The powerplant is not at capacity due to maintenance. For more information, CLICK HERE.
© Northern Ag Network 2011
Haylie Shipp
