Corps continues to alter flows from Lac Qui Parle Dam

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, continues to alter flows for repairs to the Lac Qui Parle Dam, located on the Minnesota River in west-central Minnesota, near Watson, Minnesota.

While assessing a sinkhole at the dam, divers found a hole under the abutment wall footings and concrete dam apron. Weather permitting, the hole will be filled with grout next week. In order to have access to the work area, outflows will initially be reduced to around 700 cubic foot per second. After grouting, outflows will be increased to 1,100 cubic foot per second and the lake elevation is expected to climb as high as 0.5-1 foot.  

Corps officials encourage everyone near the lake and river to use caution. Due to increased water flows and elevations, conditions could deteriorate and become unsafe on Lac Qui Parle Lake and on the river below Lac Qui Parle Dam as far downstream as Granite Falls, Minnesota.

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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