JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, National Weather Service along with county and city employees held an open discussion on the latest news regarding winter releases from Pipestem & Jamestown Reservoirs.
Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist opened the discussion, stating that the unique situation the area was put in created scenarios that no one really had the best answer for.
Allen Schlag, Hydrologist for the National Weather Service, says historic moisture for the state has led them to the point the region is in now.
Schlag says the winter outlook for the state is in an “equal chance” to either being above normal, near normal, or below normal in the way of snow.
Matt Nelson, Chief of Water Control and Water Quality for the Omaha District of the Army Corps of Engineers, says they had reached winter storage goals in both the Pipestem & Jamestown Reservoir before the record moisture.
Nelson says they expect a lot of the snowmelt that will occur in Spring will just runoff into the channels as well.
Because of the extra fall water, releases are expected to continue through winter. Darrin Goetzfried, Bureau of Reclamation Manager, Facilities and Engineering for the Dakotas Area Office, says they expect some dangerous conditions when ice forms on the reservoirs.
Dangerous conditions prompted Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser to make the decision to prohibit all activity on the Jamestown & Pipestem Reservoirs this winter. He also encouraged people to avoid rivers as well with ongoing releases through the winter.
