Bagnell Dam Increasing Flow With Rain & Snow Storm; Lake Level To Keep Dropping

With rain, sleet and snow inundating the Lake area, Ameren says they'll be running Bagnell Dam at heavier generation in the next couple of days.

It's the time of year when Ameren draws down the Lake of the Ozarks to about six feet below its summertime levels — from full pool at 660 feet of elevation in the summer, down to about 654 feet by mid-February. The drawdown is done in anticipation of spring rains, which can quickly fill the Lake, and it also allows waterfront property owners the opportunity to work on their seawalls and other shoreline issues.

Typically the Lake level is regulated through how much water Ameren allows to flow through the Bagnell Dam generators, though during flood conditions, Ameren may open the spillway gates (floodgates) to help. Ameren says they won't need the floodgates for this storm, though. The dam’s eight generators can discharge between 40,000 and 50,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at their maximum flow. That adds up to 215 megawatts to the grid.

Ameren says after light generation on Wednesday, based on Truman discharges and Thursday's rain and snow, there’s expected to be medium to heavy generation through Friday. The average output on Wednesday was 8,000 second-foot-days (sfd — an average measurement of water discharge across the day), but Thursday's output is expected to be 18,000 SFD, increasing to 28,000 SFD on Friday. That increased discharge will allow the Lake of the Ozarks water level to fall in spite of the heavy precipitation, Ameren predicted.

Expected Lake levels are as followed:

Wednesday: 657.3

Thursday: 657.1

Friday: 656.7