Releases into the Missouri River will be decreased

OMAHA, Neb. -- The amount of water released into the lower Missouri River will be decreased this month because warmer weather has reduced ice concerns.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday said it will gradually reduce the amount of water it releases out of Gavins Point dam on the South Dakota-Nebraska border to 14,000 cubic feet per second.

That's a decrease of 4,000 cubic feet per second from releases made the past two weeks.

The change is not expected to make much difference in water levels downstream in the Missouri or Mississippi rivers.

Officials said last month that the water flow needed to be increased because ice forming on the river would reduce the flow. Now the weather has improved enough to alleviate the concerns.