Gavins Point releases fall to drought-conservation rate as navigation support ends early
USACE is reducing Gavins Point Dam releases to 9,000 cubic feet per second as drought shortens the Missouri River navigation-support season.
At a glance
- Fall release rate
- 9,000 cubic feet per second
- Winter release rate
- At least 12,000 cfs beginning December 1
- 2026 upper-basin runoff forecast
- 16.2 million acre-feet, 63% of average
- Photograph capture date
- 2026-08-26
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reducing releases from Gavins Point Dam to a drought-conservation rate as the Missouri River navigation flow-support season ends early.
Reductions began November 6 from 24,500 cubic feet per second, stepping down by 3,000 cfs a day to 9,000 cfs. USACE said that fall water-supply rate, last used in 2008, will remain until a minimum winter release of 12,000 cfs begins December 1. Navigation support is scheduled to end November 15 at the river’s mouth rather than the normal December 1.
John Remus, chief of the Missouri River Water Management Division, said lower-river intake operators should prepare to maintain water access. USACE may temporarily raise releases when ice formation produces lower-than-expected stages.
The agency’s November 1 forecast puts 2026 upper-basin runoff at 16.2 million acre-feet, 63% of average. System storage is projected near 44.8 MAF entering the 2027 runoff season, 11.3 MAF into the Carryover and Multiple Use Zone. Fort Peck, Garrison and Oahe are forecast 14 to 16 feet below the base of their flood-control zones by March 1.
The water shortfall also affects power output: the six mainstem plants generated 501 million kilowatt-hours in October versus a typical 808 million, while 2026 generation is projected at 7.0 billion kWh against a 9.3 billion-kWh long-term average. Release forecasts remain subject to weather and downstream conditions.
Source report: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, November 9, 2026. Reviewed November 10, 2026.
What happens next
USACE plans to hold the fall water-supply release near 9,000 cfs until the minimum winter rate of 12,000 cfs begins December 1, subject to weather and downstream conditions.
Source for this milestone →Why it matters for the industry
Lower releases shorten navigation support, require downstream intake planning and reduce mainstem hydropower output; the operational notice is not a procurement or investment opportunity.
Supporting source →Sources & reporting
- USACE release and reservoir forecast · 2026-11-09
- DVIDS photograph record · 2026-08-26
Sources checked 2026-11-10.