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.
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