USACE and Reclamation warn to expect changing ice conditions this winter

OMAHA, Neb – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Omaha District and The Bureau of Reclamation are notifying the public of the expected hazardous and constantly unstable winter ice condition on Pipestem Reservoir and Jamestown Reservoir in the coming winter months.  

Changing water elevations and increased water releases throughout the winter will create dangerous areas of thin ice creating unsafe conditions for individuals recreating on Pipestem Reservoir and Jamestown Reservoir. These fluctuating water elevations change ice conditions without prior warning.

Due to unseasonably wet conditions, water releases will be made from both the Pipestem Dam and Jamestown Dam throughout the winter. 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.