Corps of Engineers Special Presentation Summary
Location: COE Office, 324 W 7th Street in Mountain Home, AR
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 3008
Time: 1 to 3:30 pm
Subject: COE Flow Control Management of White River Basin Dams
Hosted by: Tracy Fancher, COE, Mountain Home Office
Presenter: John Kielczewski, COE Engineer
Attendees Included:
Mark Cane, COE, Mountain Home Office
Janis Jones, COE
State Representatives from:
Marion Barry's Office
Mark Pryor's Office
Blanch Lincoln's Office
Judge Dan Hall, Baxter County QC
David Osmond, Mayor Mountain Home
A North Fork City Council Representative
Representatives from the Baxter Bulletin & the KTLO Radio Station
Bill Thorne, North Arkansas Fly Fishers
Gary Flippin, Trout Unlimited
Jim Gaston, Gaston's Resort
Representatives from:
The Baxter Bulletin
KTLO Radio Station
The Marina Association, and a
Campground Association leader
Susan Bergman, Mountain Home High School
Jerry Weber & Jane Darr, Friends of NF&W Rivers
Summary:
The purpose of this special presentation was to educate key community representatives from government and organizations whose livelihood is dependant on the White River and explain the decision process exercised for flood control measures, especially with regard to the extremely unusual amounts of rainfall which Northern Arkansas has experienced during March and early April.
John Kielczewski presented the COE operational plans for controlling flood waters including the various water retention pools (measured in acre feet of water) which were created as part of the original reason for construction of the dams. The White River watershed basin ecompases approximately 28,000 square miles which is roughtly 1/3 of Arkansas. The White River basin has 6 dams for flood control, the four primary being Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals and Norfork. Bull shoals dam has 17 flood gates, Norfork 12. The Buffalo, Black and Spring Rivers, Crooked and Sylamore Creeks along with many other less significant creeks which discharge water into the White watershed but below the dams are uncontrolled waterways. The control station for the entire White River Basin is located at Newport. The entire system operation is essentially controlled by the level of the river at Newport and the dam capacities, with some timed water releases from dams which take into account the cresting of floodwaters on the Buffalo. Each dam has four pools of water: An inactive layer which accommodates the buildup of silt at the bottom of the lake over it's life span; A Conservation Pool for farming, power generation and municipal water supplies; A Flood Control Pool of wich 5 feet of water depth has been negotiated for minimum flow, and An Induced surcharge Pool which is essentially a safety net for the upstream dams should they reach capacity or have to dump water.
It was pointed out that there are some very important facts of which many municipal and county government officials, businesses and the public have been ignorant, these are:
- The Natiional Weather Service is responsible for determining the water level (flood stages) along the river and at Newport, the governing control point for COE operations;
- The COE dam operations are not storm prediction driven;
- The river stage at Newport is highly dependent on the Buffalo, Black Spring Rivers, Crooked Creek, and other non-controlled waterway discharges;
- The flood control regulation plan (updated in 1998) defined by river level at Newport is different for the various seasons of the year;
- Each dam has a "Flood Control Pool" and an "Induced Surcharge Pool" of acre feet of water which is used by the COE to manage flood waters;
- The primary level of each lake is comprised of pre-allocated acre feet of storage for power generation, agriculture, and municipal water supplies. There is no allocation for recreational use!;
The COEs charter is to manage the water held behind each dam such that the river levels at Newport are maintained as much as possible to the predefined seasonal levels while also helping to preventing local flooding. In the case of recent rains, the record levels left the COE with little choice as to how it was able to release water from the dams. There are water levels at each dam that essentially cannot be exceeded due to structural considerations. In March, Beaver, Table Rock, Bull Shoals and NorFork reached their capacity for holding back flood waters. This meant that the dam floodgates had to be opened to match all incoming water from upstream dam watersheds. This is apparently the first time since the dams were constructed that the flood gates had to be used. Normally water can be bleed through generator turbines to adequately control flood waters these storm events.
So, given the record stormwater events of this year, the Corps operated the dams completely within their operational plans and capabilities and had to discharge incoming runoff to prevent structural damage to the dams. Should we again experience these conditions or more rainfall, downstream flooding will again occur and people living within the flood plain or operating businesses along the flood plains are susceptible to damage and loss of operations.
However, there are two actions which might be initiated which would require Congressional approval. These are:
- Negotiate a change in the "Consdervtion Pool" of water to include a Recreational Pool, so that effectively the Flood Pool is increased, allowing for higher floodwater retention amounts in these extreme weather events,
- Modify the COE White River Operational Plan to better serve recreational and lake/river associated business interests by adjusting the rates of discharges from each of the dams such that each area shares equally in the pain during the recovery to normal water levels after these unusual seasonal rain events.
Friends will attempt to get the portions of the COE Operational Manual which show the controlling river level charts to post on our website at a later date. And, a link to the COE website is in the works.
