The St. Paul District is where the “Mighty Mississippi River” starts its long journey through the middle of the United States of America to the Gulf of Mexico. The district borders follow the edges of four river basins – the Mississippi River, the Red River of the North, the Souris River and the Rainy River – and covers an area of approximately 139,000 square miles. This area includes most of Minnesota, the western half of Wisconsin, the northeastern half of North Dakota and small portions of northeastern South Dakota and northeastern Iowa. The district also shares approximately 500 miles of border with three Canadian provinces.
Mission
The St. Paul District is responsible for supporting inland navigation by operating 13 locks and dams and by maintaining the 9-foot navigation channel on the Mississippi River. The district helps communities reduce damages caused by flooding by building flood risk management projects and operating 16 reservoirs for flood risk reduction, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat and water supply. It can also assist communities by responding to floods and other natural disasters. It provides engineering services to other federal agencies to include the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It issues permits for work in wetlands and navigable rivers and is responsible for an environmental restoration program to improve fish and wildlife habitat. In addition, the district maintains 49 recreation areas open to the public.
History
The St. Paul District began its service to the region July 31, 1866. Civil war hero Maj. Gouverneur Kemble Warren opened the first engineer office with three missions: to examine the Mississippi River and its principal tributaries, to determine the best means of bridging the Mississippi between St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, and to devise the best means of establishing a 4-foot channel from St. Louis to the Falls of St. Anthony in Minneapolis. In 1883, the St. Paul District planned and developed the road network in the first national park – Yellowstone. In 1884, it completed America’s first major reservoir system, located in the Mississippi’s Headwaters at Leech, Winnibigoshish and Pokegama lakes. In 1910, it finished America’s first national dam with a hydroelectric plant, Lock and Dam 1 in Minneapolis. And in 1970, the St. Paul District designed the first nonstructural flood risk management project in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Organization
The St. Paul District office headquarters is located in downtown St. Paul in the Lowertown neighborhood. The agency employs around 700 people located in 41 field sites in five states. The St. Paul District is one of six districts that make up the Mississippi Valley Division, which is headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Contributions
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the world’s premier engineering organization. The Corps provides engineering support to other federal, state and local agencies, as well as more than 90 foreign nations, with a full range of planning, engineering, design/construction management, program management, real estate, research and development and technical assistance services. The work ranges from constructing critical infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment plants, to assisting other nations with damages caused by disasters and war. The agency employs a wide range of engineers and scientists, many of whom are considered experts in their field.