OMAHA, Neb. —  An interagency meeting will be held in Jamestown, North Dakota, in early April, and a release schedule for Jamestown and Pipestem Reservoirs will be developed after that meeting.

Pipestem Reservoir is currently at pool elevation 1441.4 feet with a water quality release of about 10 cubic feet per second (cfs).  Jamestown Reservoir is currently at pool elevation 1430.0 feet with no release.  All of the flood storage at Jamestown and Pipestem Reservoirs is currently available for the spring runoff.

During the spring snowmelt, emphasis will be placed on evacuating Jamestown Reservoir flood storage by June 1.  Pipestem Reservoir flood storage will be primarily evacuated in June, July, and August.  Current forecasts indicate that combined releases are expected to stay below 750 cfs; however, additional snow accumulation or significant spring or summer rainfall could necessitate higher release levels.

The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center’s (NOHRSC) snow accumulation model currently shows an average of 3.75 inches of snow water equivalent (SWE) in the upper James River and Pipestem Creek basins.  Soils are still frozen in the upper basin, and soil moisture conditions above the reservoirs are drier than normal except for the top few inches of depth.