ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, continues to increase flows from Lac Qui Parle Dam, as a result of recent rain events in the region.
The dam is located on the Minnesota River in west-central Minnesota, near Watson, Minnesota.
The region received nearly an inch of rain over the weekend and that, coupled with snow melt, resulted in a significant increase of flows into the reservoir, necessitating the need to increase discharges through the dam. Flows will be increased to 2,500 cubic feet per second, or cfs, today and 3,000 cfs tomorrow. Current inflows are at 3,000 cfs but are forecast to reach 4,500 cfs or more by Friday. Normal November inflow is 350 cfs.
The Corps engineers discovered a sinkhole on the downstream dam embankment Oct. 28. While assessing the sinkhole, divers found scouring under the abutment wall footings and concrete dam apron. None of these issues are an imminent threat to the integrity of the dam.
While outflows from the dam will be increased, the lake elevation will increase also. As of today, the pool’s elevation was 933.6 feet, but is forecasted to increase to 937 to 938 feet by the middle of December. Normal pool elevation for this time of year is 934 feet.
The nearly 600 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 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District
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