Month: May 2022

Hydraulic engineers, Tim Randle and Jennifer Bountry with Bureau of Reclamation Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group Office of Denver, provided an informative presentation concerning reservoir sedimentation at MSAC’s annual meeting May 20th. They have worked on multiple dam removal projects in the western United States, river restoration design and analysis, and reservoir sedimentation issues throughout the world.

Dr. Randle is a civil engineer with over 40 years of experience in rivers and reservoirs. He retired from the Bureau of Reclamation as Manager of the Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group and is working for them again on a part-time basis. He presently chairs the National Reservoir Sedimentation and Sustainability Team.

Both have been named Reclamation’s Engineer of the Year, Randle in 1997 and Bountry in 2017. Bountry has been with the Bureau since 1998 serving in both technical and project management roles. She has been pro-active in leading inter-disciplinary studies aimed at linking geomorphology, physical science, engineering and biology expertise to develop river rehabilitation strategies for endangered and threatened species in the Pacific Northwest.

The mission statement of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.

Established in 1902, Reclamation works in 17 western states. Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and the Grand Coulee on the Columbia River.

https://www.usbr.gov/main/about/mission.htm

View the Presentation Slide Deck Below. Use the back button on your toolbar to return to this page.

In other business, Paul Boyd, hydraulic engineer with the US Army Corps of Engineers, presented an update on Phase 2. MSAC and stakeholders recently submitted $25,000 to further meet local cost share requirements of approximately $107,000 (50% of Phase 2 total expenses – See first slide in presentation). Phase 2 is expected to be complete later this year. Watch the update below.

View the Phase 2 Presentation Slide Deck Below. Please note it is in Draft Form. Use the back button on your toolbar to return to this page.

Three individuals with terms expiring were elected to the MSAC Board of Directors for 3-year terms. They were Nathan Johnson, at large, Butch Becker, representing Class IV membership (individuals), and Randy Holmquist, representing Class III membership (commercial).

Join Us In Person at Yankton or Online via Zoom

Bureau of Reclamation staff to provide insight on reservoir sedimentation
at MSAC’s Annual Meeting May 20^th in Yankton

Select Button Below to Register and obtain email for webinar link. Or email msaconline@gmail.com

SPRINGFIELD, SD) – Join the Missouri Sedimentation Action Coalition for its 21st Annual Membership Meeting to be held in Yankton at the United Way Community Room, 920 Broadway Avenue, at 10 a.m., May 20, 2022. Attendees will have the option of joining via webinar also.

The meeting is free and open to the public. All interested people are encouraged to attend. Registration is available at www.keepitwater.org to obtain the webinar link. The online event will be recorded and available at MSAC’s YouTube channel.

Two hydraulic engineers will provide a special presentation entitled “How Bureau of Reclamation is Reframing Reservoir Sedimentation.” Tim Randle and Jennifer Bountry, based in the Bureau’s Denver Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group office, will join MSAC’s annual meeting via webinar.

MSAC has requested an update on the Guardians of the Reservoir Challenge. The Bureau of Reclamation, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is sponsoring a three-phase competition spanning nearly two years that seeks development of more cost-effective sediment removal methods for reservoirs. This competition builds upon the successes of the “Sediment Removal Techniques for Reservoir Sustainability” competition, and looks to continue progress in the development of new processes and technologies that collect and/or transport sediment from reservoirs at a rate that sustains their current capacity.

In June of 2021, MSAC collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to host a Solutions Workshop as part of Phase 2 to develop a sediment management plan for the Lewis and Clark Lake region. Shortly after Gavins Point Dam was completed in 1957 near Yankton, SD, people at the upper end of the lake and upstream began to feel the impacts of accumulating sediment. Currently, the lake is at least 30 percent full of sediment and by the year 2045 it is projected to be 50% full of sediment. The project to develop a sediment management plan is jointly funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the local sponsor, MSAC. To date, 14 stakeholders along with MSAC and its members have contributed funds to the local effort.

Additional business for MSAC’s annual meeting will be a Phase 2 update provided by Paul Boyd, hydraulic engineer – River and Reservoir Engineer Section, of the US Army Corps of Engineers-Omaha District. There will also be a Board of Directors member election. MSAC’s Board of Director members with terms expiring are: Nathan Johnson, at large, and Butch Becker, representing Class IV membership (individuals), and Randy Holmquist, representing Class III membership (commercial).

MSAC, a 510c3 nonprofit organization, was organized in 2001. It is dedicated to educating the public and to promoting the intelligent use of all available programs and funds to alleviate the sedimentation-caused problems of the Missouri River main-stem reservoirs. MSAC supports a sustainable approach to reservoir management, envisioning doing what is necessary to extend the storage capacity of the reservoir as far into the future as possible recognizing the value of our most precious resource – water.

A full agenda continues to be developed and will be available at MSAC’s Facebook page or at www.msaconline.com or www.keepitwater.com.  Please note that the webinar will be free via an internet connection. A participant may choose to connect by telephone, in which case long distance charges may apply. MSAC requests that meeting attendees register via the website.