Lake elevations

[m&m]

26 minutes ago, abkeenan said:

934.24 and still climbing. Up .11 the last hour. 

934.32 at 9am. Rising at a slower rate. Hopefully it will crest before Wednesday's forecasted rain.  Good luck to all those affected. 

Mike

[176champion]

[moguy1973]

I wonder how long it will be before they raise I-44 at Newburg, Hazelgreen, and Valley Park so it doesn't get inundated every year like it seems to be.

[vernon]

I know I'm gonna get roasted for this but all of the COE bashing just isn't fair or accurate.

The fact of the matter is, Table Rock Dam/Lake was not designed nor built to prevent flooding - only to control it to whatever extent possible both above and below the dam and to generate power.  Anything else is incidental.

Whether you're talking about Table Rock, Beaver or Bull Shoals, each is only a small piece of a massive puzzle and none of them exists for or serves at the pleasure of the people that live on their banks.  Or on Lake Taneycomo or Branson Landing or anywhere else along the White River chain.  They're there to control property damage and erosion for literally millions of people and many thousands of square miles of land throughout the Mississippi River Valley.  

And to generate power.

Their function is to capture and hold massive amounts of water so it can then be released in a controlled fashion rather than allowing it to all flow unchecked as it did for the many years previously.

The COE does not have the legal authority to do what so many people that populate the lake area would like them to do.  They serve totally at the behest of Congress.  They are funded by Congress and controlled by Congress and follow laws as legislated by Congress.  

The COE also does not have the legal authority to release water based on weather forecasts - they only react to measured water on the ground.  If you think that's dumb, talk to your State Representative about changing the laws, not the Corps.  If any single entity at the COE were ever to decide to release water based on a weather forecast, they would be removed and replaced immediately as would any successor that subsequently chose to operate in such a rogue manner.  

It's not that the COE doesn't pay attention to weather forecasts because they monitor them closely.  However, they utilize them to develop contingency plans and not to dictate water releases.  Measured water on the ground is the only scientific way to determine inflows and predict outcomes.  They are engineers - not fortune tellers.

It has been stated that the COE has a "book" and it needs to be revised.  Well, there is indeed a book and it's called the Master Plan and it is massive.  Not only that, I'm pretty sure that it's been in revision for quite a few years now although I don't know if they've finalized the update.  And, participation and input from the local community is/was solicited and encouraged to assist in the plans development and ultimate revision.  That's standard stuff.  However, I was a Kansas City District guy so I'm not intimately familiar with the Little Rock District but I do know that plans and policies are not kept secret and are readily available for review.

The deal is it's all about the big picture and no one person, town or lake community is more important than another and all are taken into consideration in the process.  The reservoirs exist to store water and generate power and that's it.  They do not have the legal authority to effect changes in water levels with regard to recreation, dock/ramp/marina access, fisheries management or any other fun related stuff.

A few have stated that it must take the idiots at the COE three, four or five times to figure out that rain is coming and flooding is inevitable. Yet, many of these people choose to live in locations while being fully aware that they're prone to flooding.  Ironically, they truly believe that the entire area is managed by a bunch of incompetent, flood happy morons but yet they continue to live there and singularly blame the morons year after year?  

I know one thing, the insurance companies determined a long time ago who's gonna pay for damages and losses and it ain't the morons at the COE.

Please believe me when I say that no one outside of the affected area is more concerned about all of the good people that are being negatively impacted by this event than I am.  And I don't mean to sound cold or uncaring as nothing could be further from the truth.  I truly love that place and all of the residents that make it what it is.  

However, the facts are what they are and none of this is being wrought upon anyone as the result of incompetency on the part of anyone at USACE.

If no one wants to go to the trouble of reviewing the Master Plan for themselves or otherwise research what the purpose and function of the White River system really is I would encourage them to just click on the below link to a basic FAQ that addresses some very simple questions and answers about the White River reservoir system, it's purpose and it's function.  Much of it is pointedly applicable at this very moment.

White River FAQ's - US Army Corps of Engineers

[176champion]

They are closing Kimberling City bridge and highway 86 at dogwood is closed..it's washed out.

[Browning Guy]

I cant' help but think of what could have happened if the lake would have been left at 912' or so during the winter as has been the past few years.  The lake started going up about a month ago from 906'.  Thankfully, this winter the lake was drawn down some.

[Alex Heitman]

I think the COE does a great job for the most part. In this situation we are in now, I think a lot of it could have been prevented. All the area lakes were rising a lot before the rain over the weekend came. It had been projected all week we would probably see 6 inches or more. When you seen the lake is rising and a huge flooding event is expected, I think they should act a little more since the lake was already above normal pool. I mean we are really lucky it didn't rain anymore, or it could have been a real disaster.

[mixermarkb]

And I'll get roasted for this- but I'll take some heat off Vernon.

These flood events are a result of man made climate and environment change. More frequent extreme weather events is exactly what the climate science guys have been saying for decades would happen with the increase of Co2, and we are seeing it happen. Combine those weather events with less and less green space to absorb water and the increase in concrete from populating the White River drainage, and we have what we have, which is 100 years floods every couple of years in the Ozarks.

I do think the COE, and congress should be looking at how to be more flexible in dealing with these events, and maybe that is part of the master plan revision. I don't know, but what Vernon says seems to make sense to me. I do think those who continue to toe the party line about climate change not being man made, maybe should adjust their thinking a little bit. 

It's real. It's effecting us now, and we need to stop burying our head in the sand and react like Americans, which is figure out new ways to solve problems and make a buck doing it, rather than grow more and more nostalgic and intellectually lazy. Changing to cleaner energy and fixing the environment doesn't have to mean loss of jobs and damage to the economy. It's only an either/or deal for people who refuse to see it as an opportunity to innovate. 

[96 CHAMP]

Just received this picture

Shell Knob Bridge, unreal!

[dtrs5kprs]

24 minutes ago, Alex Heitman said:

I think the COE does a great job for the most part. In this situation we are in now, I think a lot of it could have been prevented. All the area lakes were rising a lot before the rain over the weekend came. It had been projected all week we would probably see 6 inches or more. When you seen the lake is rising and a huge flooding event is expected, I think they should act a little more since the lake was already above normal pool. I mean we are really lucky it didn't rain anymore, or it could have been a real disaster.

Spot on. They screwed the pooch this time. If nothing else, they could have had a foot or two less water, which would have been huge.