The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s regulation stage at Newport dropped to 14 feet from 21 feet on April 15th. This is an annual change. Newport is a downstream control point for Bull Shoals and Norfork dams. The regulating stage will drop again to 12 feet May 8th and will remain at that level until November 30th. The reason for the change is to allow a narrowing of the channel of the White River downriver of Newport so farmers can get their crops in. There are extenuating circumstances when the Corps can exceed these stages during flood conditions.

Three of the five White River reservoirs including Bull Shoals and Norfork are currently well into flood pools. Newport river stage today was over 16 feet and expected to reach the 14 foot regulating stage by Sunday.

Don’t look for a lot of reduction in flood storage from Bull Shoals and Norfork through the rest of the spring. With the lower regulating stage, those two powerhouses will have to run as steady as they can to bring the lake levels down, but limit generation because of the downstream constraints. Any big rains will be stored in the reservoirs until Newport drops below the regulating stage later in the summer. High water on those two tailwaters looks likely for a while. If seasonal heavy rains are lacking through June, all the lake levels will continue to fall faster.

© 2010, Scott Branyan

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