Continuing releases of water from Jamestown and Pipestem dams is expected to create hazardous and unstable winter ice conditions on the Pipestem and Jamestown reservoirs, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation.
"Due to unseasonably wet conditions, water releases will be made from both the Pipestem Dam and Jamestown Dam throughout the winter," said a press release from the Corps. "Once the Reservoirs have iced-over, the ongoing water releases from the dams will create a fluctuation in reservoir levels. Fluctuating water levels beneath the ice on the Reservoirs will leave large voids between the ice and the water surface creating extremely dangerous ice conditions."
The Corps warns that fluctuating water elevations could change ice conditions without prior warning throughout the winter.