YANKTON, S.D. — For the third straight day, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday reduced water releases from Gavins Point Dam to lessen flooding impacts downstream.
Releases were decreased to 13,000 cubic feet per second from 16,000 cfs. Releases had been dropped to 20,000 cfs on Wednesday from 24,000 cfs.
The corps said tributaries that flow into the Missouri River and the Lewis and Clark Lake reservoir behind Gavins Point are stabilizing.
“We continue to monitor conditions and will make adjustments if necessary,” John Remus, chief of the corps’ Missouri River Water Management Division said in a news release.
The corps had reduced releases from 29,000 cfs on June 19 to reduce downstream river flows affected by the influx of higher inflows from rivers such as the James, Vermillion and Big Sioux, which empty directly into the river. All three rivers and others experienced record or near-record flows …