Dam Safety Program: Iowa

The overlying purpose of the Dam Safety Program is to ensure the integrity and viability of dams such that they do not present unacceptable risks to the public, property, and the environment. Within the St. Paul District, Lock and Dam 10 in Iowa is federally authorized, operated and maintained.

Dredged Material Management Plan: Pool 10, Wisconsin/Iowa

The purpose of the Pool 10 Dredged Material Management Plan is to prepare a coordinated, long-term plan for managing dredged material in Pool 10. This plan was initiated due to needs for dredged material management at upland placement sites, especially in the downstream reach of the pool.

Dredged Material Management Plan: Pool 9, Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project, and one method used to maintain the 9-foot channel is dredging river soils or “material.” The purpose of the Pool 9 Dredged Material Management Plan is to prepare a coordinated long-term plan for managing dredged material in Pool 9. This plan was initiated due to needs for dredged material management at upland placement sites, especially in the upstream reach of the pool.

Levee Safety Program: Iowa

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Levee Safety Program was created in 2006 to assess the integrity and viability of levees and to ensure that levee systems do not present unacceptable risks to the public and property. Several levee systems in Iowa are operated and maintained by the St. Paul District.

Mississippi River Locks and Dams 2–10: Embankment Rehabilitation Adjacent to Structures

This embankment rehabilitation project addresses restoring embankments to meet current design standards. Overtopping protection adjacent to concrete structures is the priority for design and construction efforts; no increase in the height of the embankments is planned.

Mississippi River Locks and Dams 2–10: Nonstructural Embankment Repairs

A draft Problem Appraisal Report completed in 2017 found that complete riprap overlay of the embankments to rehabilitate rock degradation was not economically justified but that there are other opportunities to improve scour resilience while improving the ecosystem. Some options include creating upstream berms, creating islands to reduce wave fetch, and providing submergible segments with crest superiority at some dams.

Mississippi River Locks and Dams 2–10: Tow Rail System

The tow rail system is integral to the operation of Mississippi River Locks and Dams 2 through 10. At each lock, a tow rail system is attached to the top of the lock guidewall to help guide tows through the lock chamber. The tow rail systems of Locks and Dams 2 through 10 have been deteriorating over the past several years, requiring rehabilitation of these systems.

Mississippi River Locks and Dams 3–10 Sheet Pile Installation at Auxiliary Locks

Locks and Dams 3 through 10 have auxiliary chambers. Each auxiliary chamber has only a single set of miter gates that could pass shallow draft navigation traffic if the lock chamber was out of operation and the upstream and downstream pools were equalized. At each site, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers only installed one set of miter gates. An auxiliary lock chamber was never authorized by Congress, which would have included a second set of miter gates. Since installation, the auxiliary emergency gates have never been used, and the gate operating machinery was never installed.

Navigation: Mississippi River End Cells

The Lock Guidewalls-Distress Repair Recommendations project for Locks and Dams 2 through 10 has been ongoing since the mid-1990s. The purpose of the end cell projects is to extend the longevity of each site and to reduce operability issues and required maintenance

Navigation: Routine Dam Gate Maintenance

Maintenance of dam spillway gates are required to avoid degradation and eventual replacement. Cost analyses show it is economically favorable to maintain these gates rather than replace them. There are also reliability and safety concerns with allowing the gates to degrade to the point that they must be replaced.

Navigation: Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project Maintenance

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining a 9-foot navigation channel as an important component of the inland navigation system.

Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway System Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP)

Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) is a long-term program of ecosystem restoration and navigation improvements for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). NESP will improve system capacity and reduce commercial traffic delays through construction of seven new 1,200-foot locks, mooring cells, and switchboat implementation.

Upper Mississippi River – Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program: Sny Magill Project, Iowa

This Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program study is a partnership with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The study will consider alternatives including riverbank stabilization and protection, floodplain restoration, closure or partial closure structures, and in-channel diversion structures.

Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project: Locks and Dams, Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District is responsible for maintaining 244 miles of the Upper Mississippi River 9-foot channel navigation system. The navigation project within the St. Paul District includes 13 locks and dams that are operated and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project: Maintenance, Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa

The St. Paul District is responsible for maintaining 244 miles of the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project for inland navigation.

Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa Habitat Restoration

This program, authorized by Congress in 1986, emphasizes habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects (HREPs) and long-term resource monitoring. The HREP component includes dredging backwater areas and channels, constructing dikes, creating and stabilizing islands, controlling side channel flows and water levels, and creating floodplain forest habitat.

Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Reno Bottoms Habitat Restoration, Pool 9, Minnesota/Iowa

The objective of this project is to protect, restore or create resilient and diverse bottomland forests. The quality and extent of the unique forest and aquatic habitat in the Reno Bottoms project area has been declining over the past several decades. Human-caused changes in hydrology, land use, and climate have increased water levels within the project area. Without action, the project area will continue to degrade.