Corps of Engineers to increase Lake Ashtabula water releases

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, plans to increase water releases over the weekend from Baldhill Dam, near Valley City, North Dakota, this week to maintain storage capacity within Lake Ashtabula. 

The storage space allows Corps’ officials to have the ability to better regulate future rain events. Areas of the watershed near the dam and near Valley City received up to 2.5 inches of rain yesterday, generating additional runoff. The increase in releases up to 4,500 cubic feet per second, or cfs, will maintain the stage at Valley City near 16.5 to 17 feet and will be held for the next several days.

Little to no rain is forecasted for the next week, and this period will be used to maintain or lower the level of the reservoir. Currently, strong winds are impacting pool levels; however, it’s estimated more than half the flood storage has been consumed by recent runoff events, reducing storage for future events. The increase in releases will attempt to maintain current storage capacity while minimizing flood threats to downstream communities, agricultural operations, and rural roads.

For the most up-to-date information, please visit our Baldhill Dam water management webpage at: https://www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil/reports/Baldhill_Dam.Report.shtml. The forecast is updated daily during this runoff event.

Current and historic lake levels and releases can be accessed at www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil or https://water.usace.army.mil. All Corps of Engineers reservoirs are operated in accordance with detailed water control manuals to ensure the system performs as designed.

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