Corps begins next phase on Marsh Lake construction, urges caution near ice

ST. PAUL, Minn. –The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is making progress on its Marsh Lake Ecosystem Project, near Appleton, Minnesota.

The Corps is set to begin the next phase in the construction process and will begin partially releasing water through a recently built drawdown structure. This will facilitate the construction of a fish passage at the overflow spillway.

Corps water managers plan on opening two of the 12 drawdown structure gates Friday, Dec. 15. The gates will be adjusted to allow all of the water coming into the lake to pass through the structure. As a result, the Marsh Lake pool elevation may fluctuate by as much as 1 to 2 feet depending on the amount of water within the basin. The current pool elevation is 938.12 feet.

The Corps of Engineers urges everyone to stay off the ice as conditions are expected to be unsafe on Marsh Lake this winter. The ice conditions are expected to be dangerous due to the lake’s pool elevation fluctuating.

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.

-30-