Flows Staying AT 8,000 CFS
The average daily release of water from Fort Peck is staying at 8,000 cubic feet per second, according to a conference call by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week.
John Remus, chief of the Missouri Basin Water Management Division, said the delayed second peak reached 20,000 cfs on June 20 and held until June 29.
The level decreased until hitting 8,000 cfs on July 7-8.
“We will hold that average daily flow until the end of August,” Remus said. “Around Sept. 1, we will resume normal operations.”
Pat Bratten, U.S. Geological Survey, discussed the reproductive pallid sturgeon being tracked. Of the five reproductive females in the response reach, two “wild females” entered in early to mid March and then exited in late May or early June.
Hatchery origin females were collected on July 2-3 and were still carrying eggs.
Interested parties can also provide information through a webbased application that can be found at https://hydroviz.ca/fort-peckfeedback or Missouri.Water.Management@ nwd02.usace.army.mil. The 2018 Biological Opinion requires the test under the Endangered Species Act for operation of the Missouri River Mainstream Reservoir System. The purpose of the test flows is to evaluate the potential for achieving pallid sturgeon spawning and recruitment on the upper Missouri River.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Water Management Division started its weekly virtual meetings on Wednesdays on April 24, to keep residents updated on the status of Fort Peck test flows.
