Water releases from Gavins Point Dam in Yankton will increase to make room in the reservoir for potential spring runoff, Dakota News Now reports.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it will increase flow from 35,000 cubic feet per second (fps) to 41,000 fps later this week if conditions permit.

The average flow rate for this time of year is typically half the current rate.

“This is keeping with our aggressive strategy to maintain as much flood control storage as possible for as long as possible," said John Remus, chief of the Corps’ Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, via a press release. "This will provide the greatest amount of flood risk reduction across the basin."

Remus doesn't anticipate any to downstream flooding as a result of the higher releases.

Gavins Point releases were higher than normal throughout much of 2019 due to high precipitation and flooding throughout the region.

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