Missouri River Water Wars Continue As Drought Persists
Jessie Thomas-Blate, Coordinator, Most Endangered Rivers
January 30, 2013 | Climate Change, Floods & Floodplains, Most Endangered Rivers
Missouri River flooding | Susan Abbot, USACE
Remember back in good old 2011, when the Missouri River flooded like crazy and everyone wondered if it would ever stop? Boy did it stop in 2012! The flood has been nearly forgotten with the massive drought conditions across the Midwest.
In 2012, American Rivers listed the Missouri River as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®. It truly continues to be endangered. Our partner, Paul Lepisto, with the Izaak Walton League of America, sent us this recent update on the critical situation:
With no drought relief in sight, the Army Corps of Engineers is predicting runoff into the Missouri River reservoir system will remain below normal, at least through spring 2013. Much of the basin remains in severe to exceptional drought. The driest conditions are in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and northwest Iowa. The 2013 runoff above Sioux City is forecast to be only 82% of normal.
The runoff season, which begins March 1, will begin with the reservoir’s storage for drought conditions at only 78% of capacity. This storage zone is used during droughts to provide service, sometimes at reduced levels, for the eight congressionally authorized river purposes of flood control, navigation, water supply, irrigation, hydropower, recreation, water quality, and fish and wildlife.
Last year more than 20% of water stored in the system was used for the authorized purposes. The Corps will have to reduce service for all of the authorized purposes in the future if this devastating drought continues.
Despite the lack of water, navigation interests and politicians from lower basin and Mississippi River states renewed their pleas to the Army Corps to increase Missouri River releases to support barge traffic on the Mississippi River, which is also seeing near record low flows. This is vigorously opposed by the upper basin states and businesses dependent on the river.
The Army Corps maintains that legally the Missouri River cannot be used to provide navigation on the Mississippi. They plan on continuing their water conservation plan through the winter. Many conservation and outdoor groups support this position and we applaud the Army Corps for their stance.
This renewed battle over Missouri River water releases demonstrates the need for a comprehensive review of the river’s uses and how they are, or aren’t, meeting the needs of people in the basin. The Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS) and the Missouri River Ecosystem Restoration Plan (MRERP) need to be re-funded and completed for any meaningful change to occur.
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Please help us in our pursuit to restore the Missouri River by sending a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers asking them to fund these critical studies! Take action »
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Submitted by William J. Smith at: January 30, 2013
I wishes to Request that the COE restore Funding to complete MRAPS Study. We need to look at each and every Authorized purpose based on their own merits or have they failed and should those authorized purposes be removed from the COE obligation / authorized purpose list? The COE is operating the Mo. River on an outdated business management plan that is 60 years old and wasting large Sum's of tax payer revenues on a management plan that's vision was drafted in the late 30's & 40's. That vision that congress had back then has not turned out like they had hoped it would, but yet we still keep pouring millions down a sink hole to continue the management of some of the authorized purposes that simply do Not exist or warrant wasting limited tax payer revenues. Case and Point: COE spend roughly 6.5 million a year to maintain the Lower Mo. River for Barge Navigation. The last barge to dock in Sioux City was 11 years ago. Now as a tax payer take 6.5 x 11. = 71.5 million dollars is exactly what tax payers spent so that 1 barge could dock in Sioux City some 11 years ago. That same 71.5 million would be better spent in Flood Mitigation efforts. The entire Mo. River industrial barge navigation revenue generated is a lousy 3 million dollars a year. 3 million and we spend 6.5 to maintain the Mo. River for Barge Navigation. Light Bulb anyone? As a Tax payer I demand absolute accountability as to how my tax dollars are being spent and we Need to fully review each and every Authorized purpose to see if said continued management of each is warranted and if they can stand on their own? My last comment. If I was an investor and had a number of stocks I put my money into and the markets shifted, my broker would advise me to invest my money into something else. Here we sit sum 60 years later as tax payers still dumping money hand over fist into some bad COE Authorized purposes. Times have changed and a few of the authorized purposes need to go. They simply cannot stand on their own merit.
Submitted by Roger Otstot at: January 30, 2013
I'm not sure that writing to the Corps for funding for MRAPS and MRERP would be productive. As I understand it, the funding for these studies were stopped by Missouri legislators in congress who didn't want any change in the status quo for the navigation interests on the Missouri River. Until they change their position, not much is going to get done on Missouri River issues.