Officials: Rain, high reservoir releases to mean wet summer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The continued threat of rain and higher-than-normal reservoir releases into the Missouri River will hamper the draining of flooded fields and delay repairs to many damaged levees.

Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service said Thursday during a news conference that although water levels on the river have dropped below flood stage in most places, rain over the next week could cause parts of the river to rise as much as 2 feet (0.61 meters) from Rulo, Nebraska, to where it meets the Mississippi River in St. Louis.

Increased reservoir releases are also keeping swamped land from drying out. The Corps reiterated Thursday that releases from Gavins Point Dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border will remain at 75,000 cubic feet (2,124 cubic meters) per second until next Thursday, when officials plan to drop that amount to 70,000 cubic feet (1,982 cubic meters) per second. That’s still about twice the normal amount for this time of year.