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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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: Miter Gate Replacements

Locks and Dams 2 through 10 have used the same miter gates since their construction in the 1930s. Over time, the gates have been damaged and distressed, leading to serviceability and safety issues. This project will replace the gates and upgrade the anchorage systems, increasing navigational longevity and operational readiness while decreasing repair costs and downtime due to maintenance or failure.

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: Fountain City Service Base Sustainment and Modernization, Wisconsin

The Fountain City Service Base Sustainment and Modernization Project is a two-phase project to improve function and safety throughout the service base. The two objectives of the project are to replace the deteriorated mooring dolphins on the west side of the Fountain City harbor channel and modernize the service base.

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.

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: 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.

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: Johnson Island Project, Wisconsin

The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program is a long-term program of ecosystem restoration and navigation improvements for the Upper Mississippi River System. Johnson Island is located near Trempealeau, Wisconsin, in Pool 6 of the Mississippi River. Island erosion, island dissection, and sedimentation have greatly reduced the quality and quantity of terrestrial and aquatic habitat in the project area. Project objectives are directed at improving conditions for fish, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife, maintaining emergent vegetation, maintaining submersed vegetation and island stabilization and nourishment to restore connectivity, and promotion of floodplain forest regeneration.

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 – Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program: Systemic Mitigation Island 4 Project, Wisconsin

The primary purpose of this project is to address general degradation of habitat quality due to sediment deposition, wind-driven wave action, declining bathymetric diversity, and a decline in aquatic vegetation. Concerns over habitat deficiencies in Upper Pool 4 include reduced habitat diversity and quality, lack of aquatic vegetation and invertebrates, and reduced abundance of fish and wildlife.

Upper Mississippi River – Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program: Wacouta Bay Project, Wisconsin

Concerns over habitat deficiencies in Wacouta Bay, most resulting from sedimentation and turbidity, include reduced aquatic and terrestrial habitat diversity and quality, lack of aquatic vegetation, lack of protected wetlands, and reduced abundance of fish and wildlife. The Wacouta Bay project is a Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program study that will consider alternatives including island building and enhancement, forest enhancement and creation, backwater restoration and dredging, island and shoreline protection, and use of dredged material.

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: Lower Pool 10 Island Habitat Restoration, Iowa

Many natural islands bordering the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-maintained Mississippi River navigation channel and extending into the backwater have eroded and are disappearing. Erosion from wave action and main channel flows reduces the wetland, resulting in the loss of aquatic vegetation and shallow protected habitats necessary for fish and wildlife to survive. The purpose of this project is to reestablish lost habitat and ecosystem health.

Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: McGregor Lake Habitat Restoration, Wisconsin

The purpose of this project is to support diverse and abundant native fish, wildlife and plants while sustaining a high level of environmental health and promoting recreation opportunities.

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.