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N.D. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that on about August 31, releases from Jamestown Reservoir and Pipestem Reservoirs will be increased to a combined level of 2200 cubic feet per second (cfs). Increasing releases on that date will allow time for the city of Jamestown to implement measures to minimize the impacts of the higher releases. Based upon current forecasts, it is expected that combined releases will remain at the 2200 cfs level until early November. The releases will then be gradually reduced with complete evacuation of the flood control storage expected in mid- to late November.
Currently, Jamestown Reservoir releases are 1300 cfs and Pipestem Reservoir releases are 800 cfs, resulting in a combined release of 2100 cfs. River levels are expected to rise approximately 0.3 feet when releases are increased to a level of 2200 cfs.
The city of Jamestown is finalizing plans on measures to minimize the impacts of higher releases. It is expected that most of the measures will involve sandbagging in areas where flood waters are outside the channel bank and near structures.
Property owners are advised to monitor changes in stage as flows are increased. The Corps, Bureau of Reclamation and National Weather Service will continue to monitor rainfall and runoff conditions, and will provide updated forecasts and release plans as conditions change.
With the continued high releases from the reservoirs, residents along the James River downstream from Jamestown should continue to monitor flood forecasts by the National Weather Service.