June finished what started in May with flow rates indicative of open flood gates on Bagnell Dam until 6/17. You can see from the up and down changes in flow rate during the second week that Ameren was trying to maintain lake levels while continuing to take water from Truman lake. When they closed the flood gates lake levels almost immediately shot up to near full pool. A series of full turbine flows (~30,000cfs) pulled things back down. All a delicate dance, but in the end the lake was almost at exact five year average level prior to the 4th of July weekend.
We're typically going through the "dry season" now, so lake levels and flow should normalize for the next few months. I'm sure the bearings on those turbines could use a little maintenance. Did you know they use wood bearings? It's true!
