Potential For Massive Run-Off Due to Melting Snow This Spring -- North Dakota, USA

The US Army Corps of Engineers says there is a chance for flooding this year similar to the massive flooding that occurred in the Missouri River Basin in 2009. Whether it floods may have much to do with rainfall.

Apparently, the current storage of water in all six mainstem reservoirs is "just 100,00 acre-feet above the base of the annual flood control pool."

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In an unrelated story, but the number is very coincidental, the US Army Corps of Engineers recently agreed to set aside 100, 000 acre-feet of water from the Missouri River Basin for use by oil companies for fracking. That is enough water to frack 10,000 wells, ten times more than all the wells drilled last year in North Dakota. (Numbers rounded.)

In case the link is broken in the future, December 17, 2010:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday it plans to make a temporary allocation of 32 billion gallons, or 100,000 acre feet available annually to the oil industry, but it will charge a hefty fee for storing that water in the Garrison Dam reservoir.

 

The corps decided to study water allocations after receiving numerous applications for industrial water permits for the oil industry.

It now has nine applications pending for a total of 34,000 acre feet of water.

100,000 acre-feet is enough for 10,000 oil wells a year, based on an average use of 3 million gallons per well. Next year is expected to the biggest year ever for new wells at 2,000, according to the Department of Mineral Resources.

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It certainly makes one wonder if that's how the 100,000 figure was arrived at when deciding how much water could be made available for fracking.