http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

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Flow support to navigation in the Missouri River Basin was provided at or near the minimum service level throughout the 2022 season. To continue conserving water in the Missouri River Mainstem reservoir system, minimum releases from Gavins Point Dam were scheduled this winter while still serving the needs of the municipal, industrial and powerplant water intakes along the lower river. The six mainstem power plants generated 475 million kWh of electricity in December 2022. Typical energy generation for December is 682 million kWh. Total energy generation for 2022 was 7.5 billion kWh of electricity, compared to the long-term average of 9.4 billion kWh. Forecast generation for 2023 is 7.7 billion kWh. Missouri River basin runoff in 2022 was 19.3 million acre-feet, 75% of average, for the 30th lowest annual runoff, and was forecast to remain below average at 20.8 MAF, 81% of average in 2023. The forecast is based on current runoff trends, drier than normal soil conditions, and nearly average plains and mountain snowpack. The Glasgow Courier (Mont.), Jan 25, 2023 Releases from Missouri River dams are expected to be lower this winter, due to low precipitation and drought, according to officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, although releases from Gavins Point Dam were increased by 300 cubic feet per second in October to maintain downstream water needs. The Mitchell Daily Republic (S.D.), Oct 26, 2022 Forecasts for continued or worsening drought and lower than normal Missouri River levels have left the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managing the river at the minimum service level, meaning that the navigation channel is also shallower and narrower. The navigation season is likely to end early in November also instead of Dec. 1. Sioux City Journal (Iowa), April 12, 2022 Runoff into the Missouri River above Sioux City continued to decline further. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on April 4 lowered the 2022 runoff forecast to 17.8 million acre-feet from 20.4 MAF after March runoff was just 1.5 MAF, 48% of average for the month. "Runoff was well below normal due to dry soil conditions and well below normal precipitation across the entire Missouri River basin," stated chief of the corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division. "Due to the lack of plains snowpack in 2022, below-average mountain snowpack and dry upper basin conditions, we expect upper Missouri River Basin runoff to be below average." The revised annual forecasted runoff for 2022 is 69% of normal levels. The average annual runoff is 25.8 MAF. In 2021, runoff was 15.2 MAF, the 10th lowest total in 123 years of record keeping. Sioux City Journal (Iowa), April 5, 2022 Drought conditions are expected to persist in the Central Plains through the spring, leading to below normal runoff for the Missouri River in 2022. February runoff was less than predicted, and runoff is expected to be well below normal below Sioux City for 2022 water year. The 2022 calendar year runoff forecast above Sioux City, Iowa, has dropped from 21.7 million acre feet in February to 20.4 MAF on March 1, a reduction of 1.3 MAF, amounting to 79% of normal. Hydropower will be reduced with the lower river levels. The six mainstem power plants generated 448 million kWh of electricity in February, compared to typical energy generation for the month of 624 million kWh. Based on current projections, the Missouri River’s annual power production will be 7.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), while the average is 9.4 billion kWh. Vermillion Plain Talk (S.D.), March 11, 2022