MISSOURI RIVER DAMS July 2011

If you live near the Missouri River you have heard or have been affected by the water being released from the DAMS.  I was curious as to what dams, where are these dams and why are they letting out so much water??


I saw the affects of the high water everywhere I went heading up river.  I-29 is closed at Rockport, MO about 50 miles north of St Joseph, MO.  I traveled on the west and south side of the river and my routed was interrupted by detours all the way to the DAM.

The dam or the water that is being released that is causing all the problems is located in Yankton, SD., some 500 miles upriver from Kansas City.  The dam is the GAVINS POINT DAM and it creates the LEWIS AND CLARK LAKE.  It is a "rolled earth" dam, 74 feet high and 35 feet wide at the crest.  The dam is 8,700 feet long and has 14 Tainter Spillway Gates ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tainter_gate  ) that release the water.  I was told that the amount of water and the opening and closing of the gates are controlled by the Corps of Engineers in Omaha, NE.  The dam has 3 generators that can produce 132,297 kilowatts of electricity.

The Lewis and Clark Lake is 31,400 acres at max pool, is 28 miles long, has a maximum depth of 45 feet and has 90 miles of shoreline.

This is a pictures of the spillway of the Gavins Point Dam in Yankton, SD.  The Lewis and Clark Lake is in the background.

Everywhere I went that were warnings, police tape and construction.  Almost everyone I saw and here to look at the water.  There were very few "vacationers".

Normally this would be a tranquil stream with fishing boats present.  The tree you see is falling into the water because of the high water.

This is a closer picture of the spillway.  It is very difficult to describe how violent and angry this water is.

This is another view of the spillway from the south side.

YES, this is the dam and the water that is causing the flooding all the way to St. Louis, MO!!

You can see the turbulent water being release in the background.  It was 438 miles to Yankton, SD. from Kansas City.   I rode my 2009 Honda Gold Wing, which is now 27 months old and has 83,364 miles on it.