As the weather gets colder, changes are being made to the flow levels at Gavins Point Dam. But officials say it’s nothing to worry about this year.
The flow at Gavins Point is expected to hit its winter levels in the coming weeks, but nothing out of the ordinary is there to report this time around.
John Remus is the chief of Missouri River basin water management for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
“Every year we cut flow support to navigation," Remus said. "Usually, we like to end the navigation support at the mouth at Saint Louis by Dec. 1. Some years we extend that, but this year we’re going to end it on the first. We will start cutting back releases from Gavins Point on about Nov. 22.”
Remus explained exactly how much water will be cut from the dam’s flow rate.
“We’ll cut 3,000 cubic feet per second, per day, until we reach about 15,000 cubic feet per second," Remus said. "Then we’ll hold that flow for five days then drop it 1,000 CFS every five days until we get our winter release of 12,000 cubic feet per second.”
To put that into context, one cubic foot of water weighs about 62.5. Multiply that by 3,000, and a massive shift in the water table can be expected.
Though Remus said drought conditions are complicating work at the dam.
“The main system, which is six dams, is in pretty good shape, except we’ve been in extended drought for the last three or four years," Remus said. "So, we’ve been drawing in our multipurpose carryover pool, or the conservation pool. So, we are in what we’d consider drought conservation measures.”
Beyond that, there is no major technical issues at the dam network beyond routine maintenance.