ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, initiated its annual reservoir drawdowns for its six Mississippi River Headwaters reservoirs this fall.
The six sites include Gull Lake, near Brainerd, Minnesota; Cross Lake, near Crosslake, Minnesota; Big Sandy Lake, near McGregor, Minnesota; Pokegama Lake, near Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Leech Lake, near Federal Dam, Minnesota; and Lake Winnibigoshish, near Deer River, Minnesota.
Corps officials anticipate gradually lowering the reservoirs levels through December. They will then make any future adjustments based on measured moisture accumulations within the region.
The lakes are lowered slowly to reduce problems caused by freezing while also ensuring that the necessary storage is available for the spring run-off.
The nearly 650 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 St. Paul District Fiscal Year 2018 $106 million budget, nearly 1,700 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $163 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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Release no. 18-069