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Lac Qui Parle Dam construction update

Published Nov. 10, 2016

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, continues to make repairs to a sinkhole discovered in the Lac Qui Parle Dam embankment on Oct. 28.

Lac Qui Parle Dam is on the Minnesota River in west-central Minnesota, near Watson, Minnesota.

The St. Paul District is lower flows from 2,500 cubic feet per second, or cfs, to 1,300 cfs by this evening as the lake returns to normal elevation, which is 934.0 feet, for this time of year. The pool elevation today is 934.15 feet.

While assessing the sink hole in the dam embankment, divers found scouring under the abutment wall footings and concrete dam apron. None of these issues are an imminent threat to the integrity of the dam, but actions are being taken to immediately correct these issues. These actions include filling and compacting the sinkhole alongside the abutment wall near the county road shoulder; filling the scour hole with rock; and filling scour beneath the structure with a cement-like mixture of grout. An access road will also be constructed on the downstream side of the dam to accomplish this work. The site is being monitored daily for any changes in conditions.

During these construction activities, the Chippewa or the Lac Qui Parle County Highway Departments may reduce or close traffic on County Road 13/33 crossing the dam. (Correction from news release dated Oct. 29)

The nearly 600 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

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The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, St. Paul District
– Celebrating 150 years of service to the Upper Midwest –
1866-2016


Release no. 16-091