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Based on the updated Souris River forecast, Corps of Engineers increases outflows from Lake Darling Dam

Published April 2, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is increasing the outflow from the Lake Darling Dam, located northwest of Minot, N.D., to 1,500 cubic feet per second, or cfs, today, April 2.

The Corps is increasing releases from the dam due to the updated forecast by the National Weather Service and the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency. The agencies recently conducted aerial surveys of the basin and confirmed additional water content within the snowpack on the ground in Canada.

Regulators in Canada are increasing outflow such that 2,300 cfs will be expected at the Sherwood gage at the United States crossing. Because of this increased flow and the need to further lower Lake Darling, the Corps of Engineers will increase outflow to 2,300 cfs tomorrow. Lake Darling is currently at elevation 1,595.1 feet, and the new target elevation is 1,593.0 feet.

The goal during the current drawdown is to keep flows at the Sherwood gage at/or below 3,200 cfs. Further, the Corps’ plan is to not exceed 5,000 cfs at the Minot 4NW gage, commonly referred to as the Boy Scout Bridge.

The Corps continues to monitor ice conditions downstream of the dam and is regulating outflows to minimize potential ice jams as a result of the increase in water. Ice conditions will continue to deteriorate in the coming days. The Corps urges people to use extreme caution near the ice.

The Corps assumed control of Lake Darling Dam from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service March 19 when the International Souris River Board declared a 1-in-10 flood event for the river.

The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

 

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Release no. 13-028