Corps of Engineers dredging near Brownsville, Minnesota

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, began dredging the Mississippi River navigation channel near Brownsville, Minnesota, in Pool 8 this week to ensure the channel remains open for commercial navigation. Dredging is expected to continue in this area through Labor Day. The Above Brownsville Placement Site, known locally as Crater Island, will be closed during this time when needed for dredging operations.

The Corps offers the following safety tips to anyone recreating in that area:

• The easiest and safest thing is just to boat, canoe or kayak somewhere else
• Always wear a life jacket
• Have an appropriately sized anchor readily available
• Take a boater safety course
• Use caution and go slow around dredges, especially when coming from the rear and while passing
• Leave plenty of room between you and the dredge.
• Stay as far from the dredge as you can
• Remember: they have equipment that swings from side to side. It’s guided by cables that you may not see until it’s too late.
• Don’t create a wake that will rock their boats, barges, pontoons or pipelines
• Don’t expect the dredge to get out of your way; they can’t maneuver like you

The St. Paul District navigation program provides a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system on the Upper Mississippi River for the movement of commercial goods and for national security needs. To do this, the district maintains a 9-foot navigation channel and 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa. Keeping this system open is vital to the nation’s economy. Nearly 13 million tons of commodities passed through Lock and Dam 10 in 2021. This included nearly 8.5 million tons of farm products such as corn and soybeans. The industries making these shipments saved approximately $430 million by using the inland waterways instead of overland shipping methods.

For more information on the Corps’ dredging activities, please visit us online at: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Channel-Maintenance/.

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