ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is closely monitoring water levels at its Red River of the North reservoirs. Below average precipitation and drought conditions continue to impact reservoir levels and discharges.
Lake levels at Lake Traverse, behind Reservation Dam, near Wheaton, Minnesota, are within operating limits, but they are the lowest they have been for this time of year since 1990. The current pool elevation of Lake Traverse is 976.1 feet. The adjacent Mud Lake, behind White Rock Dam, is 0.6 feet below its summer target level of 972 feet. Releases from both dams were stopped in early June because there was no water coming into the reservoirs.
The pool elevation at Orwell Dam, near Fergus Falls, Minnesota, is 1,064.3 feet, which is within the target summer range. Water coming into the reservoir is being released. The current discharge is 270 cubic feet per second, or cfs, which is the lowest flow rate for this time of year since 1988.
At Lake Ashtabula, behind Baldhill Dam, near Valley City, North Dakota, the pool elevation is 1,265.9 feet, which is within the target summer range. Water coming into the reservoir is being released. The current discharge is 180 cfs.
At Red Lake behind Red Lake Dam, near Red Lake, Minnesota, the pool elevation is 1,174.1 feet, which is within the target summer range. Water coming into the reservoir is being released. The current discharge is 250 cfs.
At Homme Dam, near Park River, North Dakota, rainfall over the past weekend raised the pool elevation to 1,079.6 feet, which is slightly below the target summer level. The reservoir is not currently discharging water and pool levels have been below average for much of the year.
Current and historical lake levels and releases can be accessed at www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil or water.usace.army.mil.
All Corps of Engineers reservoirs are operated in accordance with approved water control manuals to ensure the system performs as designed.
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