Kaw Dam water release rate dropped drastically

The release of water from Kaw Dam has dropped drastically from Thursday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports today.

At 9 a.m. Friday, the dam was releasing 53,655 cubic feet per second, down from 105,040 CFS for the past several days. The release started stepping down slowly at 9 p.m. Thursday.

This drop in the release rate has dramatically reduced the amount of water flowing downstream. The Corps of Engineers stated Friday morning it is doing everything in its power to mitigate the risk of flooding in the region brought on by historic levels of rainfall.

“Fortunately, reservoirs like Kaw are able to mitigate the risk of flooding, because it would be much worse if these dams were not here to help equalize the amount of water moving through the river system,” the Corps stated.