Kevin Grode, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will talk about "Regulation of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System: Lessons Learned from the 2011 Flood of Record,” at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in the Hardin Hall auditorium. His talk is part of the Spring 2012 Water Seminar Series.
Abstract
The flood of 2011 marked the largest runoff in the Missouri River basin in the last 114 years of recorded history. The estimated 61.2 million acre-feet (MAF) of runoff above Sioux City, Iowa, exceeded the previous record of 49.0 MAF, set in 1997, by almost 25 percent. Records have been kept since the late 1800’s. The runoff from March through July was approximately 48.7 MAF, exceeding the 1881 flood control design storm of 40 MAF by more than 20 percent.
The record runoff was a result of significant plains snowpack, very high and late mountain snowpack, and much higher than normal spring and summer rainfall.
During this flood, record releases were made from the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division in Omaha, Neb.
This presentation will focus on lessons learned from the regulation of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System, including assessment of basin and runoff conditions prior to and during the flood, runoff forecasting procedures, and the regulation decisions made in response to the record runoff.
The Spring Water Seminar Series is sponsored by the School of Natural Resources and the Nebraska Water Center, a part of the Daugherty Water for Food Institute.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/opd