YEAR AGO: Canadian Releases Increase - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

YEAR AGO: Canadian Releases Increase

One year ago today - Saturday, June 18th, 2011 - we started hearing about major rain storms in southern Canada that were impacting the amount of water coming down the Mouse River.

We showed you pictures from Saskatchewan communities that were inundated by the heavy rains.
And we told you about new, higher releases through the three dams in Canada that are meant to provide flood protection to the US.
It was one year ago today that we learned that Canadian dams had been opened to allow 12,000 CFS of water to gush through them - meaning the first US river gage along the Mouse west of Sherwood should be seeing 50% more water within about a week than at any time so far in 2011.
That was a problem because Lake Darling - the last hope of controlling the Mouse - was nearly full.
Still, the Corps of Engineers official in charge of keeping us informed saw some hope.

(Rick Hauck, US Army Corps of Engineers) "Right now Lake Darling has about six-tenths of a foot of storage and we're actually releasing more than is coming in."

That was a year ago today - but how does Lake Darling look today, one year later?
Jim Olson is standing by live at Lake Darling to give us an update...

(Jim will ad lib stuff and end with talking about Fathers Day one year ago when we discovered just how much water was on the way)
Today the level is well within the normal range - just under 1597 - the desired summer level.
A year ago it was approaching 1601 and while there was a little space being made at the time - that space would be eaten up in a matter of hours or a couple of days.
So the issue a year ago today was - how long will these high releases - 12,000 CFS - from Canada be continuing?
Of course, only 24 hours later - on Fathers Day 2011 - we took you to Rafferty Dam and found out that even more water was being released.
We'll remember that tomorrow as we continue to remember the flood of 2011, one year later.