ST. PAUL, Minn. – On April 18, the U.S. Geological Survey took actual outflow measurements downstream of Lake Darling Dam and determined releases from the dam are around 2,600 cubic feet per second.
With the existing releases, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will continue to draw down the pool’s elevation to 1,592 feet, targeted to be met the week of April 22. Local melt is expected to start late next week.
This weekend, the district will also have hydraulic engineers in the field in the Souris River Basin looking at snow and ice conditions. The engineers will be looking at the type of ice and snow, indications of melt that has already begun, whether there has been any flow through coulees or dry creek beds. This information is use by the Corps water managers to determine the operation of Lake Darling dam and is also provided to the National Weather Service to be incorporated in their river forecasts.
Important websites:
Souris River specific (Corps of Engineers)
http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Missions/EmergencyManagement/SourisRiver.aspx
National Weather Service forecasts:
http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=bis.
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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