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<br /> <br />V. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION <br /> <br />:'t <br /> <br />.:j <br />1 <br /> <br />..,\i"~ <br /> <br />A. Physical Characteristics of the Missouri River <br /> <br />1. Average Annual Flow <br /> <br />A very large volume of water. (22 million acre feet in 1970 <br />at Omaha) is moVing through a constrained bed. In the <br />channelized portion of the river. a 6OO-foot width is main- <br />ta ined. rtrnIlne-fOO1:"deePIChannel"Vfdtll~~iii'Hy <br />"3112;;;f~~~~l'cli90f~tt1e~Mver"'~er"'disCtis~~b1'i' 1 <br />ts provf~aror comparative purposes. <br /> <br />The river flow has been predicted to decline to alEst half <br />its present volume by the year 2020 as the result of irriga- <br />tion withdrawals. consumptive industrial uses. etc. (Compre- <br />hensive Framework Study) (39). The national concern that <br />has been expressed over water conservation in the years since <br />the Comprehensive Framework Study was written makes it doubt- <br />ful that the consumptive projections contained in that study <br />will be fully implemented without an extensive reappraisal. <br /> <br />2. Seasonal Flow Fluctuations <br /> <br />Of extreme importance to the biota is the pattern of flow <br />on a seasonal basis. Tables 2-5 provide a 13-year record of <br />the average flows in wann and cold weather months. <br /> <br />3. Sinuosity <br /> <br />The meander pattern of the Missouri River produces a series <br />of sinuous curves with radii of 7.000 to 14.000 feet which <br />occur at approximately 2 to 2~ mile interals. Each curve <br />has both an inner filling and an outer cutting margin and <br />the two are ecologically dissimilar. The specific ecol09ical <br />circumstances will be discussed in detail in later sections. <br />The river has. for all practical purposes, no straight seg~ <br />ments (see Figure 1). The channelization efforts have accen- <br />tuated. the cutting and filling characteristics of meandering <br />streams. The resultant channel follows the outer (cutting) <br />bank and continuously crosses the bed at each successive <br />curve reversal. Figure 2 is provided to clarify this pattern. <br /> <br />"The J1rlittb,e. ~moo.thne.u 06 the -uve..tJnent ~, <br />eoll4-tJruc.ted along the. COIIC4Ve. 1xutIu., 4-tlteamUnu the <br />6low, Ituutti.ng .in tu~ 6tow.twt.bululee.. NOIlllla.U.g. <br />the 6lDw .twr./xLte.nc.e. .incJte46U alo"9 toca.ti.on6 .:tM- <br />veJl.6.UJg 6Jwm the. lteve..tJnent 4-ide. (COIIC4Ve. ~hoJte.1 to << <br />pohtt IIWL the convex 4-ide.. The h.ighut dl!8Ite.e. 06 <br />.twr.bu.le.IIee. .u 60und 6Jr.Cm the eeJl.tt,t 06 the c.It4Md. <br />tolAkVl4 the dike. 4-t1wetu1tu tocaUd along the. COII\IU <br /> <br />22 <br />