Beneficial Use of Dredged Material: Section 1122, Upper Pool 4 – Lake Pepin, Bay City, Wisconsin

This project utilizes dredged material generated from the navigation channel to protect and restore backwater habitat; this is a win-win project for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, our partner agencies, and the environment. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is the nonfederal sponsor.

Beneficial Use of Dredged Material: Section 204, Pigs Eye Lake Islands, Minnesota

The project will beneficially utilize dredge material to create islands that will provide a variety of habitats for fish and wildlife. Pigs Eye Lake is located in Ramsey County, just east of downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, in upper Pool 2 of the Mississippi River.

Chippewa Diversion Repairs: Watson, Minnesota

The Chippewa Diversion structure redirect flows from the Chippewa River to the Minnesota River via the Lac qui Parle embankment dam. The structure includes one Tainter gate and a low-flow culvert with sluice gate. The site also includes a low-flow channel. Maintenance is required once the Tainter gate, concrete gate structure, electrical components and low-flow channel are complete.

Dam Safety Program: Minnesota

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. Several dams in Minnesota are federally authorized, operated and maintained.

Disposition Study: Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1, Upper Mississippi River

This work will determine whether continued operation and ownership of Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1 are in the federal interest, and if not, consider alternatives for disposal of the property.

Disposition Study: Upper St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam, Upper Mississippi River

This work will determine whether continued operation and ownership of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock project is in the federal interest, and if not, consider alternatives for disposal of the property.

Dredged Material Management Plan: Pool 2, Minnesota

The purpose of the Pool 2 Dredged Material Management Plan is to prepare a coordinated long-term plan for managing dredged material in Pool 2. This plan was initiated due to increases in dredging volumes throughout Pool 2. Furthermore, three temporary placement sites for dredged material need to be excavated in Lower Pool 2.

Dredged Material Management Plan: Pool 3 and Upper Pool 4, Minnesota and Wisconsin

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project, and one method the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses to keep the channel the right size is dredging river soils or “material.” The purpose of the Dredged Material Management Plan is to prepare a coordinated, long-term plan for managing dredged material in Pool 3 and Upper Pool 4. This plan was initiated due to needs for dredged material management upland placement sites.

Environmental Infrastructure Assistance: Section 219

The Section 219 program authorizes aid from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist nonfederal interests in carrying out water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects. Assistance may be in the form of technical, planning, design and/or construction assistance for wastewater treatment and related facilities and water supply, storage, treatment and distribution facilities

Environmental Infrastructure Assistance: Section 569, Northeastern Minnesota

The Section 569 program authorizes aid from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the public entities in the 24-county northeastern Minnesota area for design and construction assistance for water related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects. These projects can target wastewater treatment and related facilities, water supply and related facilities, environmental restoration, and surface water resource protection and development.

Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies: Marshall Emergency Levee Repairs, Minnesota

The purpose of this work is to repair the flood control measures that were damaged in the 2023 and 2024 spring floods in Marshall, Minnesota.

Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies: Noyes Emergency Levee Repairs, Minnesota

The purpose of this work is to repair the flood control measures that were damaged in the 2022 spring floods in Noyes, Minnesota.

Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies: Oslo Emergency Levee Repairs, Minnesota

The purpose of this work is to repair the levee system banks that were damaged in 2022 spring floods in Oslo, Minnesota.

Flood Control Sites, Minnesota: Lake Traverse, Orwell Lake, Red Lake, Big Stone (Highway 75 Dam), Lac qui Parle

Minnesota flood control sites include flood risk management, recreation and environmental stewardship business line functions. Each have public use facilities for shore fishing, picnicking, bird watching, and other activities. The land is actively managed for habitat enhancement.

Flood Risk Management: Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area

The Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area is a major health, education, cultural and commercial center. The area is prone to flooding. The Red River of the North has exceeded the National Weather Service flood stage of 18 feet in 60 of the past 122 years (1902 through 2024), with seven of the top 10 floods occurring in the last 30 years. Although emergency flood fights have been very successful, the area has a significant risk of catastrophic flooding.

Flood Risk Management: Minnesota Silver Jackets Team

Silver Jackets teams are collaborative, state-led, interagency teams that are continuously working together to reduce flood risk at the state level. Through the Silver Jackets program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and additional federal, state, and sometimes local and tribal agencies provide a unified approach to addressing a state’s flood risk priorities. Often, no single agency has the complete solution, but each may have one or more pieces to contribute. Silver Jackets team activities and projects occur throughout Minnesota.

Floodplain Management Services: Minnesota

This program educates individuals who live and work in floodplains on flood hazards and the actions they can take to reduce property damage and prevent the loss of life. The program’s objective is to foster public understanding of the options for dealing with flood hazards and to promote prudent use and management of the nation’s floodplains.

Hydropower: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Licensing

Granting licensing of a privately-owned hydropower project on federal property. The project is proposed to be located at Upper St. Anthony Falls lock and dam, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Interagency and International Services: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Minnesota

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is a customer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the agencies have a national-level interagency agreement in place for Interagency and International Support. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' support will fill a need for Veterans Affairs regionally by providing rehabilitation and construction services for health care facilities for veterans and their families.

Invasive Carp, Upper Mississippi River

Bighead and silver carp were introduced to the Mississippi River in the 1970s after wastewater treatment ponds were overcome from flooding on the lower Mississippi River. Left uncontrolled, the invasive carp’s feeding habits starve other species and cause turbidity in the waters where they feed, detrimentally altering the habitat that supports native species. Left unchecked, it is concern that the invasive species will continue to expand further upstream into the upper Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The purpose of this project is to monitor and limit the spread of invasive carp species.

Lac qui Parle Dam Emergency Spillway – Watson, Minnesota

The Lac qui Parle Emergency Spillway is designed to retain the Lac qui Parle Reservoir during normal conditions and overtop during flooding. The reference to “emergency” in the feature name is because its operation requires road closure.

Levee Safety Program: Minnesota

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.

Marsh Lake Ecosystem Restoration Project, Minnesota

The purpose of this project is to modify the existing Marsh Lake Dam to increase the biodiversity of the Minnesota River/Lac qui Parle/Pomme de Terre River ecosystem without compromising the flood risk management function of the Marsh Lake Dam.

Minnesota River Navigation Project, Minnesota

The St. Paul District is responsible for maintaining the 9-foot navigation channel on the Minnesota River from its mouth in St. Paul, Minnesota, to river mile 14.7 in Savage, Minnesota, and the 4-foot channel depth from river miles 14.7 to 25.6 in Shakopee, Minnesota. Annual channel maintenance actions are required to maintain the congressionally authorized 9-foot channel depth. These channel maintenance activities consist of dredging, snag removal, and close monitoring of channel conditions.

Mississippi River Headwaters Reservoirs, Minnesota

The Mississippi River Headwaters Project consists of six headwaters dams in north-central Minnesota. The dams were constructed or reconstructed between 1884 and 1913 to aid navigation on the Mississippi River between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Because the navigation mission of the headwaters dams declined with the creation of the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Channel and recreation grew in importance to the region’s economy, the mission shifted to flood risk management, recreation, and environmental stewardship.

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.

Mississippi River Recreation and Environmental Stewardship

Although navigation was the initial purpose of the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project, Congress has since authorized the development of recreational facilities, protection of forest resources, and required the consideration of fish and wildlife conservation.

Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program

The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) seeks to provide a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environment-sustainable waterborne navigation system by implementing switchboats at five locks and constructing mooring cells and seven new 1,200-foot locks. NESP will restore the aquatic and terrestrial habitat to a more natural condition on more than 100,000 acres throughout the system through a wide variety of ecosystem projects.

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: Mississippi River Lock and Dam 7 Outdraft

In 2017, a hydraulic study was launched to identify potential causes of the increased outdraft at Lock and Dam 7 and to investigate and implement measures to alleviate the condition. Flow measurements collected over the last 30 years indicate a significant shift in flows just upstream of Lock and Dam 7, with nearly 20% more flow coming through the existing navigation channel, which must then exit through the dam, exacerbating the outdraft condition.

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.

Operations and Maintenance: Lake Traverse Repairs Modernization Project

The Lake Traverse Project provides flood control on the Bois de Sioux River and in the Red River Valley. While the effects on river stage to reduce flood crests are limited, the reservoir has a sizeable storage capacity. The repairs and modernization project focuses on three sites in the Lake Traverse area.

Planning Assistance to States: Big Sandy Lake Fish Movement, Aitkin County, Minnesota

The purpose of the study is to obtain data that will provide managers a better understanding of fish behavior, harvest, movement and escapement in this reservoir with emphasis on the configuration and operation of Big Sandy Dam. The results could be used to alter harvest regulations, guide dam management, and guide the construction, operation, and timing of fish passage structures and/or barriers to reduce or optimize fish escapement.

Planning Assistance to States: Northern Red River Flood Study

The objective of this study is to identify and prioritize feasible alternatives that reduce the frequency and duration of interstate and state highway closures due to flooding of the Red River of the North.

Planning Assistance to States: Red River Basin Comprehensive Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of various flood risk reduction measures basin-wide to reduce main stem peak flows by 20% for the larger rare events such as the 0.5% (200-year) and 0.2% (500-year) chance of exceedance floods.

Planning Assistance to States: Red River Basin Long-Term Flood Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of various flood risk reduction measures basin-wide to reduce main stem peak flows by 20% for the larger rare events such as the 0.5% (200-year) and 0.2% (500-year) chances of exceedance floods.

Planning Assistance to States: Red River Main Stem Bathymetry

The purpose of this study is to gather 444 river miles of main stem channel bathymetry data from White Rock Dam to the Canadian border for the Bois de Sioux and Red River of the North. That data will be combined with terrestrial light detection and ranging, or LiDAR, data of the adjacent terrain to provide a seamless elevation dataset for planning studies.

Preliminary Engineering Report: Leech Lake Dam, Minnesota

A Preliminary Engineering Report will evaluate existing issues at the Leech Lake Dam site and provide alternatives developed to address these issues.

Tribal Partnership Program

The Tribal Partnership Program provides authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform water-related planning activities and activities related to the study, design and construction of water resources development projects located primarily on tribal lands that substantially benefit federally recognized tribes.

Tribal Partnership Program: Lower Sioux Indian Community, Minnesota

This study will assess the problems and opportunities faced by the Lower Sioux Indian Community on their tribal lands and make recommendations related to erosion along the Minnesota River adjacent to and impacting those lands.

Tribal Partnership Program: Red Lake Fish Passage and Wetland Restoration, Minnesota

This study will address the degradation of culturally significant habitat faced by the Red Lake Nation on their tribal lands along the Red Lake River and the Zah Gheeng Marsh in Minnesota. Additionally, this study will assess and make recommendations related to fish passage through a low-head dam and habitat restoration opportunities within the Zah Gheeng Marsh along the Red Lake River.

Tribal Partnership Program: Sturgeon Lake Habitat Improvement, Minnesota

The purpose of this project is to address sedimentation, erosion and degradation of culturally significant habitat on the Prairie Island Indian Community’s tribal land in Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota. Priority objectives identified in the feasibility study are to (1) reduce shoreline erosion on Buffalo Slough Island and (2) improve/restore floodplain forest habitat on Buffalo Slough Island; these priority objectives will be carried forward in the design and implementation phase of the project.

Tribal Partnership Program: Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota River, Minnesota

This study addresses erosion issues along the Minnesota River adjacent to Upper Sioux Community tribal lands and makes recommendations related to those issues.

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 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.

Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Robinson Lake Habitat Restoration, Pool 4, Minnesota

Sedimentation of the backwater lakes of the Upper Mississippi River, including the lower Pool 4 area, is an ongoing issue. Potential sources of sand are the Chippewa River, historic channel maintenance dredging side-cast islands and the four active temporary placement sites within the study area. The extent of open water has been shrinking in Robinson Lake.