Rounds praises Corps amid increased Missouri River releases

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds praised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week for its management of potential flooding on the Missouri River.

“I am pleased with the way they are managing it right now,” Rounds told reporters.

The Corps’ Omaha District announced this week that it would be increasing flows from Gavins Point Dam in Yankton in order to create more storage space in upper reservoirs. Even before that announcement, releases at Gavins Point were at 35,000 cubic feet per second, double the average for this time of year.

Releases were scheduled to go up to 41,000 cfs on Friday.

“This is keeping with our aggressive strategy to maintain as much flood control storage as possible for as long as possible,” said John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, in this week’s announcement.

But even with more aggressive releases, the amount of water in storage in the reservoir system is expected to increase as warmer temperatures this week melt above-average snowpack in the Dakotas.

In its spring flooding forecast released this week, the National Weather Service said there’s an above normal risk for flooding on the Missouri River this year. Part of the risk comes from elevated soil moisture levels.

Rounds, who has a home on the river in Fort Pierre, has criticized the Corps in the past for its management of the reservoir system. That system has to balance competing interests of flood control, habitat preservation and barge traffic on lower stretches of the river.

Rounds said he thinks the Corps is doing a good job right now of balancing those interests.

“I think they understand it, and I think they are doing a good job now,” he said.

The Corps is scheduled to release an updated flood forecast next week.

Reach reporter Jonathan Ellis at 605-575-3629 or jonellis@argusleader.com. Twitter: @ArgusJellis