Water Resources Center

Missouri River

Missouri River Basin

The Missouri River is a vital resource to Missouri. It flows approximately 553 miles through Missouri transecting several major metropolitan areas. More than half of all Missourians receive their drinking water from the river and its alluvium. Missouri's interest in the river also includes recreation, power generation, water supply, river commerce, and fish and wildlife. From the 1930's to the 1960's, six dams were constructed on the Missouri River thereby creating the largest reservoir system in the United States.  The Missouri River Reservoir System has the capacity to store approximately 73 million acre-feet of water (one acre-foot of water is equivalent to 325,851 gallons of water). The majority of this water is stored in the upper three reservoirs in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

River Data

Associations and Groups

Projects and Studies