Riverwatch: Yankton County Emergency Management Daily Update

Published: Thursday, June 2, 2011 2:03 PM CDT

The Yankton County Office of Emergency Management (YCOEM) has begun going door to door, meeting with homeowners expected to be directly affected by high water as releases from Gavin’s Point Dam increase in the coming days. The effort will continue today.

A third location has been established for sand bag pick up in the Yankton area. In addition to the Yankton County Highway shop and the Riverside Acres site, residents who need them can also pick up bags at 12th and Pine Street from 9 am to 4 pm, daily. Drivers are advised to approach the site from the south on Pine.

A fourth sand bag pick up location has been established at Dakota Premium Hay, 3704 E. Highway 50 (east side of Yankton). Sandbags will be available beginning at 2 pm Thursday afternoon.

Updates to the YCOEM’s information website, www.yanktonflood.com, include a link to the current and forecasted Gavin’s Point Dam releases and a pamphlet from the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources on how to prepare septic systems for surface water and ground water inundation.

For more information on these and other issues related to the impending Missouri River high water event, go to www.yanktonflood.com.

Riverwatch: Yankton Press & Dakotan Community C-Battery Heads Home

Yankton Press & Dakotan Community C-Battery Heads Home.

Riverwatch: Big Bend Dam spillway gates to open for floodwaters for first time

Ft. Thompson, S.D. – As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ramp up releases from Big Bend Dam, the spillway gates will open Friday, June 3, shortly before 8 a.m. This will be the first time in the history of the dam that the spillway gates have been opened to pass floodwaters.

A special viewing area on the south side of the spillway will be opened up as a vantage point for the public and media to photograph, view or shoot.  Special parking will be provided for the Media south of Highway 47. The public will be directed to park on the west side of Highway 47 near the “Circle of Nations” display. Other public parking will be provided, if needed.

The gates will be opened Friday to release an additional 15,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water, bringing the total release out of Big Bend Dam to 100,000 cfs. After Friday’s opening, the gates will be raised daily to allow for additional flow through the spillway.  On Tuesday, June 7 the gates should reach their peak, allowing for a target spillway release of 65,000 cfs. When combined with the 85,000 cfs of water being released through the powerhouse, a historic total of 150,000 cfs will be released into Lake Francis Case.

It is recommended that media show up early to ensure enough time for setup and be ready to film or photograph as early as 7:45 a.m.

Rapidly changing weather conditions in Montana, northern Wyoming and the western Dakotas have prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make adjustments to previously announced releases from Garrison Reservoir in order to evacuate flood waters out of the Missouri River main stem reservoir system.

People living along the river are encouraged to make evacuation plans to protect their possessions and property. Maps for potential flood areas can be found at: www.nwo.usace.army.mil. Residents in communities along the river are encouraged to contact their local emergency management offices for additional details.

Please follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/OmahaUSACE) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/OmahaUSACE) for the latest updates regarding our flood response operations.

You can also find flood inundation maps and local emergency management contact information on our social media sites as well as our district Web site at http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil.

View daily and forecasted reservoir and river information on the Water Management section of the Northwestern Division homepage at: http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc.