OMAHA, NE - Runoff in the Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa for the month of September was just under 1.0 million acre feet (MAF), 84 percent of average. The 2015 runoff forecast is 24.9 MAF, 98 percent of average. Average annual runoff is 25.3 MAF.
The total volume of water stored in the Mainstem Reservoir System is currently 59.3 MAF, occupying 3.2 MAF of the 16.3 MAF combined flood control storage zones. “System storage declined 1.0 MAF during September. Water that was captured in the reservoirs during the spring and summer is being released to serve navigation and other downstream purposes,” said Mike Swenson, team leader in the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. “Our plan is to evacuate all water stored in the flood zones of the reservoirs prior to the start of next year’s runoff season, which typically begins around March 1.”