Corps begins drawing down Mississippi River Headwaters reservoirs

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, recently began its annual winter draw down of its six Mississippi River Headwaters reservoirs to create storage for the spring snow melt.

Big Sandy Lake, near McGregor, Minnesota, started its draw down Oct. 1. The normal target draw down is to elevation 1,214.31 feet, or 2 feet below the middle of the summer operating level. The current lake level is elevation 1,216.45 feet. 

Pokegama Lake, near Grand Rapids, Minnesota, is currently releasing flows. The normal target draw down is to elevation 1,270.42 feet, or 3 feet below the middle of the summer operating level. The current lake level is elevation 1,273.45 feet.

Cross Lake, near Crosslake, Minnesota, started its draw down Oct. 1. The target elevation is 1,228.3 feet at the end of November. The final draw down level will be determined by the winter snow water content.  

Gull Lake, near Brainerd, Minnesota; Leech Lake, near Federal Dam, Minnesota; and Winnibigoshish Lake, near Deer River, Minnesota, all began a gradual draw down Oct. 1. The final draw down elevations will also be determined based on the winter snow water content. 

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 Corps’ Fiscal Year 2014 $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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