Water Resources: Corps' Management of Ongoing Drought in the Missouri River Basin

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Army Corps of Engineers' management of the Missouri River reservoir system under drought conditions between 1988 and 1990, focusing on: (1) whether the Corps followed a drought contingency plan; and (2) how the Corps set plan operating priorities. GAO found that: (1) between 1988 and 1990, the Corps followed a drought contingency plan when releasing water from the reservoir system; (2) the plan reduced winter release rates, shortened navigation seasons on the Missouri River, reduced navigation channel water levels, and reduced the amount of water usually released under normal operating conditions by 17 percent; (3) the drought and the Corps' response to it adversely impacted all of the reservoirs' purposes except flood control; (4) the Corps' drought contingency plan did not reflect the Missouri River Basin's current economic condition, because the Corps based the plan on outdated, invalid assumptions regarding the amount of water needed for navigation and irrigation; (5) the Corps is reviewing its operation of the Missouri River reservoir system and updating the Missouri River Division's Master Manual; (6) the Corps believes that it must continue to give recreation a lower operating priority than other authorized purposes, even if this low priority results in decreased system benefits, unless it obtains congressional approval to change existing operating priorities; and (7) three states filed a federal lawsuit questioning whether the Corps' drought contingency plan conserved the reservoir's water and equitably distributed the negative impacts of the drought among all reservoir water users, particularly between the upper basin's recreation industries and the lower basin's navigation industry.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is responsible for construction, operations, and maintenance of much of the nation's water resources infrastructure. This infrastructure includes flood control levees, multi-purpose dams, locks, navigation channels, port and harbor facilities, and beach protection infrastructure. The Corps of Engineers also regulates the dredging and filling of wetlands subject to federal jurisdictions. Along with its programs for flood damage reduction and support of commercial navigation, ecosystem restoration was added as a primary Corps mission area in 1996. The National Research Council (NRC) Committee on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Water Resources Science, Engineering, and Planning was convened by the NRC at the request of the Corps of Engineers to provide independent advice to the Corps on an array of strategic and planning issues. National Water Resources Challenges Facing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveys the key water resources challenges facing the Corps, the limits of what might be expected today from the Corps, and future prospects for the agency. This report presents several findings, but no recommendations, to the Corps of Engineers based on initial investigations and discussions with Corps leadership. National Water Resources Challenges Facing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can serve as a foundational resource for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Congress, federal agencies, and Corps project co-sponsors, among others.