KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Releases from Milford, Tuttle Creek and Perry reservoirs in the Kansas River Basin have been providing supplemental Navigation Support to the Missouri River since July 8 and will continue to do so through approximately August 7.
In order to provide this support, these three reservoirs will each release enough water to leave them 3 feet below their normal pool elevation.
Daily reservoir and reservoir-systems releases within the Kansas River Basin are the responsibility of the Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Milford, Tuttle Creek and Perry reservoir projects within the Kansas River Basin are congressionally authorized for the purpose of providing supplemental navigation support at the request of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri River Basin Water Management Office in Omaha, Neb.
In recent weeks, the Missouri River Basin Water Management Office has depended on supplemental navigation support releases from the Kansas River Basin, not because of drought, but in order to comply with requirements of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2003 Amendment to the 2000 Biological Opinion prepared pursuant to the Federal Endangered Species Act. That document specifies that the Corps should regulate the mainstem Missouri River reservoir system to minimize take of threatened and endangered species.
Supplemental navigation support releases from the Kansas River can be called upon to protect nesting Least Terns and Piping Plovers, two threatened and endangered species federally protected by the 2003 Amendment to the 2000 Biological Opinion. Releases from the Kansas River protect birds nesting along the Missouri River by supplementing or offsetting necessary increases from the mainstem Missouri River reservoirs which would otherwise destroy nests, eggs or unfledged birds along the water's edge.
In this manner, supplemental navigation support releases from the Kansas River have been used to protect nesting areas upstream and downstream of Gavins Point that would otherwise have been flooded with Gavins Point releases greater than 34,500 cubic feet per second. The releases from Gavins Point have been maintained at 34,500 cfs since July 12, 2012.
Prior to October 1, a portion of the multipurpose pool at each of these three lakes is available for navigation support. The portion or zone of multipurpose storage water available is limited to the first 3 feet below normal multipurpose pool. The following table defines the upper and lower limits of this zone.
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Multipurpose Elevation
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3 Feet Drawdown Elevation
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Milford Lake
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1144.4
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1141.4
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Tuttle Creek Lake
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1075.0
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1072.0
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Perry Lake
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891.5
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888.5
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Milford, Tuttle Creek, and Perry reservoirs will continue to provide supplemental navigation support releases until their water surface declines to the 3 foot drawdown elevation identified above. Afterwards, releases from these three reservoirs will be reduced to satisfy water quality flow targets at Topeka and DeSoto.
For questions, contact the Kansas City District Public Affairs Office at (816) 389-3486.
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