PIERRE, S.D.(KCCR)- Runoff into the Missouri River has increased due to above average rainfall in June and July but the river and most of its reservoirs continue below average. Ryan Larson with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers says the rains have led them to bump up forecasted runoff for the year.
Larson says the rest of the year is expected to see below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures due to the continuing drought. Mike Swenson with the Corps says the Oahe reservoir is just over nine-feet below the bottom of the flood control zone.
Chuck McWilliams is the Drought Response Coordinator with the Corps in Omaha. He says they have been working on mitigation efforts in the Big Three reservoirs.
System storage peaked on July 20th at 52-point-one million acre feet and is expected to steadily decline for the next several months.