Corps: Reservoirs too low for spring rise on Missouri River

 1 comment(s)  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By SAM HANANEL / The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not release extra water from upstream reservoirs this spring to boost flows on the Missouri River, the agency announced Wednesday.

The corps said the reservoirs’ water levels are too low to have the spring rise, which is done to encourage spawning by the pallid sturgeon, an endangered fish. Since 2005, agency plans have called for two pulses of water, one in March and one in May.

No release will be conducted this month because reservoir levels have not reached the minimum of 36.5 million acre-feet of water, said Paul Johnston, a spokesman for the corps’ northwestern division office in Omaha.

Water levels must be even higher for the May release, and Johnston said none of the agency’s computer forecasts show storage levels getting high enough.

“I suppose if you’re a lottery believer, you could come up with an extreme example, but we don’t see any way that we’re going to get there this year,” Johnston said.

The spring rise has long been contentious among states along the river. Missouri officials oppose the plan because of possible downstream flooding and interference with the barge industry. Upstream states are reluctant to part with water that could deplete lakes and harm boating and fishing interests.

Last year, the corps also was forced to cancel the March pulse because water levels were low, but the May release went on as planned, despite a federal lawsuit to stop it filed by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon. The release caused no flooding and a federal judge later rejected Nixon’s lawsuit.

The corps established guidelines for the spring rise after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service called for greater protection for the pallid sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act.

Johnston said a corps report analyzing how the fish population responded to last year’s spring rise would be released as early as next week.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said he was pleased the corps called off the spring pulse, given the toll North Dakota residents are facing from the drought.

“The corps made the right decision in this case, but my real concern is to improve their overall management plan so upstream communities are given a fair shake,” Dorgan said in a written statement.

Dorgan said the corps showed him a report last month that said a number of communities in North Dakota and other upstream states would face serious consequences if the upper Missouri River reservoirs drop further.

The current water level in the Missouri River system is about 34 million acre-feet, more than 20 million acre-feet below normal, as a result of a multiyear drought. An acre-foot is the amount of water that could cover an acre, one foot deep.

This year’s navigation season begins April 1, but only minimum flows will be provided due to the drought. The corps expects the navigation season to be shortened by 33 days to 61 days.