Pierre, South Dakota, where I live, is located a couple of miles downstream from the second largest rolled-earth dam in the world. There is another dam 40 or so miles below us, and numerous other dams all along the Missouri River. The dams and waterways in the U.S are managed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Back story: This region has had way above previous record snow fall and rain, particularly way up river in Montana and Wyoming.
Current problem: The Corps of Engineers apparently forgot that the snow was going to melt at some point this Spring, and didn't release enough water earlier to make room for the inflow. The normal outflow for the water is about 30,000 cubic feet per second. The current outflow is 85cfs (the previous record was 59), and Thursday they will go to 110; by Tuesday it will be 150,000cfs. 2 1/2 times the amount they have ever released before.
My house is well above the predicted flood level and completely safe, my shop is right on the edge, and the entire downtown area is now sandbagged. Several hundred homes in Pierre, and Fort Pierre (other side of the river) are with certainty, according to the Corps of Engineers going to be flooded.
After 9/11/2001 we were warned that Oahe dam, because of it's significance in the region, could be the target of terrorist attacks. The attacks by terrorists never came, of course; so The U.S. Army is going to do it for them.
Last edited by Parallax; 06-02-2011 at 01:22 PM.