I MISSOURI RIVER DIVISION OMAHA DISTRICT SUMMARY OF 1980-81 RESERVOIR REGULATION ACTIVITIES MISSOURI RIVER DIVISION OMAHA DISTRICT SUMMARY OF 1980-1981 RESERVOIR REGULATION ACTIVITIES SECTION PAGE I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE 1 II. RESERVOIRS IN THE OMAHA DISTRICT 1 III. WATER SUPPLY 2 IV. RESERVOIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2 V. RESERVOIR OPERATIONS 5 VI. REGULATION PROBLEMS 9 VII. RESERVOIR REGULATION MANUALS 10 VIII. DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM AND PROCEDURES 10 IX. RESEARCH AND STUDIES 12 X. TRAINING AND METHODS 13 XI. PERSONNEL AND FUNDING 13 INCLOSURES 1. Map of Flood Control Dams 2. Project Data Sheets 3. Total Number of Flood Control Reservoirs in Omaha District 4. Water Supply Map 5. Regulation Sheets for Past Year 6. Manual Schedule 7. Organization Chart, Omaha District 8. Organization Chart, Reservoir Regulation Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir, Shoshone River, Wyoming, June 10, 1981 Average Discharge ;;; l4p 715 ds, Bureau of Rec!arnat!on Photo MISSOURI RIVER DIVISION OMAHA DISTRICT SUMMARY OF 1980-81 RESERVOIR REGULATION ACTIVITIES I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE. This annual report has been prepared in accord­ ance with paragraph 12-C of ER 1110-2-1400 to summarize significant tributary reservoir regulation activities of the Omaha District. The period covered is August 1980 through July 1981. II. RESERVOIRS IN THE OMAHA DISTRICT. a. Reservoirs with Flood Control Storage. There are 33 tributary reservoirs with allocated flood control storage covered in this report. The darns are listed below. Included are 22 Corps of Engineers darns and 11 Bureau of Reclamation darns. The reservoir locations are shown on Inclosure 1 and pertinent data are presented in Inclosure 2. Inclosure 3 tabulates the numerical buildup of Corps reservoirs in the Omaha District. Pictured on the preceding page is the Bureau of Reclamation's Buffalo Bill Darn and Reservoir in Montana. Although this reservoir has no storage allocated to flood control, it prevented considerable flooding during June when it stored a flood estimated to be at least a 100-year event. CORPS OF ENGINEERS BUREAU OF RECLAMATION 1. Bear Creek Darn 23. Boysen Darn 2. Bowman-Haley Darn 24. Canyon Ferry Darn 3. Bull Hook Darn 25. Clark Canyon Darn 4. Cedar Canyon Darn 26. Glendo Darn 5. Chatfield Darn 27. Heart Butte Darn 6. Cherry Creek Darn 28. Jamestown Darn 7. Coldbrook Darn 29. Keyhole Darn 8. Cottonwood Springs 30. Pactola Darn 9. Kelly Road Darn 31. Shadehill Darn 10. Papillion No. 16 32. Tiber Darn 1/ lL Papillion No. 11 33. Yellowtail Darn 12. Pipestem Darn 13. Salt No. 2 14. Salt No. 4 15. Salt No. 8 16. Salt No. 9 17. Salt No. 10 18. Salt No. 12 19. Salt No. 13 20. Salt No. 14 2L Salt No. 17 22. Salt No. 18 !/ Storage allocated for flood control regulation by the Corps was temporarily suspended in 1966 due to limitations placed on the spillway. In the spring of 1982 rehabilitation of the spillway is expected to be complete. 1 b. Reservoirs without Flood Control Storage. There are two Corps of Engineers tributary lakes without allocated flood control storage included in this report. They are both subimpoundments of the Missouri River Main Stem Projects and were formed by the construction of relocations for transportation facilities and utilities. Lake Audubon, a subimpoundment of Lake Sakakawea, is located just northeast of Riverdale, North Dakota. The lake is a key feature of the Bureau of Reclamation's Garrison Diversion Unit Project. Lake Pocasse, a subimpoundment of Lake Oahe, is located near Pollock, South Dakota. The Bureau of Reclamation planned to use the lake as a regulating reservoir for the proposed Pollock-Herreid Irrigation Unito At this time, construction on these diversion units has been halted pending solution of environmental and economic factors. Both lakes are used for fish and wildlife and recreational purposes. Their locations are shown on Inclosure 1 and pertinent data are presented in Inclosure 2. III. WATER SUPPLY. Water supply in the Omaha District during the reporting period was generally below average, prolonging the pattern of drought set in 1979. Little or no winter snowpack accumulated in the plains area. The mountain snowpack was about 50 to 60 percent on 1 May. Soon after mid-May, a combination of heavy rainfall and early mountain snowmelt caused record floods in areas around Deer Lodge, Helena and Bozeman, Montana. In early June, heavy rains augmented by snowmelt runoff caused flooding in north­ western Wyoming. Peak discharges of several streams in this area exceeded thelOO-year incidence. In southeastern Wyoming and the eastern slopes of Colorado, snowpacks recorded near record low water equivalents on 1 May. Runoff into the South Platte River was near 70% of normal above Chatfield Reservoir. Drought conditions generally prevailed during much of the period in Colorado and in parts of North and South Dakota, Montana and Nebraska. In extreme western Nebraska, flooding occurred along Lodgepole Creek as a result of runoff from a 9-inch rainfall on 1 July. The peak discharge at the gaging station at Bushnell was approximately equal to that of a 100-year event at that site. Despite above normal rainfall at many reporting sta­ tions during July, total runoff for the April-July period was much below normal and for many points in the Missouri River Basin, the runoff was the lowest of record. Inclosure 4 gives the percent of normal runoff at pertinent locations in the Omaha District. Atabulation of pertinent peak high water discharges given below indicates the magnitude of some of this year's maximum flows. See page 4. IV. RESERVOIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. a. Corps of Engineers Dams. Flood damages prevented by the Corps dams in 1981 and accumulative totals are estimated as follows: FLOOD DAMAGES PREVENTED IN DOLLARS BY CORPS DAMS Dam 1981 Accumulative Total Bull Hook (Havre Project) 0 $ 20,663,500 Spring Creek (Lake Pocasse) 0 33,000 Bowman-Haley 0 1,838,000 Cottonwood Springs 0 0 Cold Brook 0 0 2 --~. Dam 1981 Accumulative Total Cedar Canyon (Red Dale Gulch) 0 250,000 Pipestem 0 5,982,000 Papillion Creek #16, 11 0 0 Chatfield 0 640,000 Bear Creek 0 0 Cherry Creek 0 157,000,000 Kelly Road (Aurora) 0 391,000 Salt Creek Project 0 10,464,700 Total 0 $197,262,200 Low flow augmentation releases were continued from Bowman-Haley Dam until 29 August for livestock and fish usage. Lake Audubon and all the above projects, except the normally dry reservoirs of Bull Hook, Cedar Canyon and Kelly Road were used for recreation. Visitation days at the projects for CY 1980 and for 1981 to 1 September, along with available accumulative totals, are tabulated below. RECREATION VISITATION IN DAYS Accumulative Initial Project 1980 1981 1./ to 1 SeE '81 Year Bowman-Haley 30,970 28,000 747,340 1967 Cottonwood Springs 14,870 9,900 ll5,430 1974 Cold Brook 29,820 38,400 898,400 1955 Pipestem 153,800 88,900 670,880 1974 Papillion Cr. #ll 177,810 298,800 1,006,100 1977 Papillion Cr. 1116 132,720 286,700 1,203,000 1977 Chatfield 828,960 993,800 3,561,470 1976 Cherry Creek 1,243,150 1,481,400 20,531,090 1959 Salt Creek #2 34,200 27,900 " #4 208,200 160,300 " #8 49,800 143,500 " 119 23,800 124,500 " 1110 14,100 ll,900 II #12 178,200 121,000 " #13 10,000 14,300 " " #14 750,200 705,400 1117 261,300 181,300 " " ·-·--· II II #18 780,700 780,600 Salt Cr. Total 2,310,500 2,270,700 28,813,930 1964 1./ As of 1 September 1981 b. Bureau of Reclamation Dams. Flood damages prevented (both local and to the Missouri River Main Stem) by the Bureau dams in 1931 and accumula­ tive totals are estimated as follows: 1981 1981 Accumulative Dam Local Main Stem Total Total Clark Canyon $ 13,000 $ 0 $ 13,000 $ 3,842,000 Canyon Ferry 5,000,000 7,200,000 12,200,000 48,646,000 Tiber 0 1,421,000 1,421,000 31,549,000 Boysen 0 1,006,000 1,006,000 20,025,000 3 PERTINENT 1981 WY PROVISIONAL PEAK DISCHARGES (C.F.S.) Maximum Flood Drainage Maximum 1981 Previously Known Record Recurrence Station Area Stage Discharge Date Stage DischarBe Date Began Interval (sq.mi.) (years) Gallatin River at Logan 1,795 8.45 7,570 23 May *6.25 9,840 12 Jun 1899 **1898 9 Missouri River at Toston 14,669 11.34 29,400 24 May ll.77 32,000 6 Jun 1948 1929 14 ... Missouri River near Ulm 20,941 14.99 28,500 24 May 17.est 35,000 Jun 1953 1957 9 Sun River near Vaughn 1,854 15.45 13,600 24 May 23.40 53,500 9 Jun 1964 1934 Missouri Riv at Morony'Dam 9.02 45,400 24 May 72 '000 1964 Smith River near Ft. Logan 846 4,350 23 May 5.46 1,930 22 Mar 1978 1977 8 Smith River near Eden ll ,800 24 May >100 Yellowstone Riv at Corwin Sprg 2,623 8.55 20,200 9 Jun 11.50 32,000 14, 15 Jun 1918 **1889 Stillwater Riv near Absarokee 975 5.47 6,520 8 Jun 7.17 12,000 15 Jun 1967 **1910 Rock Creek nr Red Lodge 124 4.13 1,490 9 Jun 4.78 3,110 4 Jun 1957 ')'(*1932 Clark's Fork near Silesia*** 2,093 9.40 ll ,000* 10 Jun *7.51 ll ,800 10 Jun 1972 ***1969 N. Fork Shoshone Riv nr Wapiti 775 12.00 21,000 9 Jun *6.88 9,250 23 Jun 1925 >100 S.