Officials say significant snow over the winter combined with recent heavy rainfall is keeping reservoir levels in the Black Hills near full.
South Dakota Bureau of Reclamation Civil Engineer Ginger Wessels says most of the snow has dwindled in the high country but areas near Pactola lake and Deerfield reservoir are saturated and precipitation is no longer soaking into the soil.
“Right now we still have a little room as we came through the snow melt and some of the rains earlier in the year. We’ve tried to drop the reservoirs down if they were full – drop them down to a half a foot or a foot below that full level so that we have a little room so that we can take any additional moisture,” says Wessels.
Rain is forecasted for the Black Hills through much of next week but Wessels says officials from the Bureau of Reclamation, the USGS, and the National Weather service consistently monitor water levels to determine any possibility of flooding. Wessels says the public can check updates on reservoir levels by visiting the Bureau of Reclamation website at www.usbr.gov.