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COVID-19 and the St. Paul District Navigation Program

Navigation within the St. Paul District remains fully operational. Our staff are incorporating CDC-recommended measures to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 and safeguard our ability to continue our critical navigation operations.

Public areas to include observation decks and guide walls are open at our lock facilities. While these facilities are open, we urge everyone to continue practicing safe social distancing measures and to continue listening to local officials on the best methods to protect yourself. The safety and health of our visitors and employees is our top priority, and we want everyone to be able to experience the river for years to come.

Regrettably, public restrooms continue remain closed until further notice. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Navigation Mission

 
Navigation is travel or transportation over water. Many different kinds of boats and vessels are used on rivers to move people and products from one place to another.

Navigation was extremely important for foreign and domestic trade and travel in the early days of our country before cars, trucks, trains and airplanes were invented. In those days, rivers were used as "roads" to connect inland settlements to river and coastal ports. Communities established at these ports became important economic, cultural and social hubs in the development of our nation.

Today, navigable inland waterways provide a cost-effective, fuel efficient means for moving major bulk commodities, such as grain, coal and petroleum. Inland navigation is a key element of state and local government economic development and job-creation efforts, and is essential in maintaining economic competitiveness and national security. For more information, view our brochure Inland Waterway Navigation Value to the Nation (PDF).

Navigation activities in the United States take place at thousands of ports and terminals along more than 25,000 miles of waterways. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for facilitating safe, reliable and economically efficient movement of vessels, and it does so by constructing and maintaining navigation channels and harbors, and regulating water levels on inland waterways.
 
Navigation Channel
Sedimentation in the channel is caused by the normal cycle of silt movement, erosion from high water or heavy rains and changes in river currents. To maintain the 9-foot navigation channel, material that settles in the channel area must be removed. Mechanical or hydraulic dredging are methods for the removal of that material. This material is placed in designated areas along the river. Some of these areas are beneficial use placement areas.

Beneficial use of dredged material is the productive use of the material by the public or private sectors. Examples of common beneficial uses of dredged material in the St. Paul District are upland habitat development, wetland creation, aquatic habitat enhancement, creation of areas for bird nesting, beach nourishment, winter road maintenance, levee repair and improvement, aggregate for concrete, lining fly ash pits, bank protection and general purpose fill. The district is responsible for maintaining 243.6 miles of navigation channel to a depth of at least 9 feet on the Mississippi River from Minneapolis at river mile 857.6 to Guttenberg, Iowa, at river mile 614.0, and 40.6 miles on three tributaries: the Minnesota, St. Croix and Black rivers.
 

The Corps of Engineers maintains navigation channels, much like road crews maintain highways, and builds breakwaters or jetties to protect public property from shoreline erosion. A 9-foot navigation channel is maintained on the Upper Mississippi River, so river vessels can transport their goods north of St. Louis.

To achieve a 9-foot channel in the Upper Mississippi River, the construction of a system of navigation locks and dams was authorized in 1930. Dams are built on rivers to hold back water and form deeper navigation "pools." Most pools in the United States are maintained at a constant minimum water depth of 9 feet for safe navigation.

Dams make it necessary for river vessels to use a series of locks to "step" up or down the river from one water level to another. Additional benefits from the locks and dams include adding river recreational areas for public use, providing water supply for several river communities and serving as nesting grounds for migratory birds. The St. Paul District has jurisdiction over the 13 uppermost structures, from No. 10 at Guttenberg, Iowa, to Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minneapolis, as well as 1,300 wing dams and 200 revetments.

 
The St. Paul District provides daily updates for water levels and flows at various points on the St. Croix, Minnesota and Upper Mississippi rivers on its River Information Line, 651-290-5861.

Advantages of Inland
Waterways Transportation

Navigation News

Dredging Notices

Dredge Notice 20-43 Deadmans Slough


NOTICE DATE: October 19th, 2020
Proposed Dredging Date: October 20th, 2020
DREDGE CUT NAME: Deadmans Slough
RIVER MILE: 686.3 - 687.5
POOL: 8
Published: 10/19/2020

Dredge Notice 20-42 Betsy Slough


NOTICE DATE: October 2nd, 2020
Proposed Dredging Date: October 1st, 2020
DREDGE CUT NAME: Betsy Slough
RIVER MILE: 730.9 - 731.4
POOL: 5A
Published: 10/2/2020

Dredge Notice 20-41 Indian Camp Light


NOTICE DATE: September 29th, 2020
Proposed Dredging Date: September 29th, 2020
DREDGE CUT NAME: Indian Camp Light
RIVER MILE: 665.3 - 665.8
POOL: 9
Published: 9/29/2020

Dredge Notice 20-40 Freeborn Light


NOTICE DATE: September 28th, 2020
Proposed Dredging Date: September 28th, 2020
DREDGE CUT NAME: Freeborn Light
RIVER MILE: 818.2 - 819.4
POOL: 2
Published: 9/28/2020

Contact

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
Channels & Harbors Project Office
Fountain City, WI
Office: 651-290-5150
mvp.stpaul.channel@usace.army.mil

Navigation

City of Hastings hydro plant dewatering diver safety

Jun 10 2020

City of Hastings hydro plant dewatering diver safety

Nayelli Guerrero

The St. Paul District recently assisted the City of Hastings with diver safety during the dewatering of the city-owned hydro plant at Lock and Dam 2. The District Dive Coordinator worked with the city's Public Works superintendent to communicate diver safety with the dive contractor, and a Corps dive safety inspector attended the pre-dive meeting, inspected equipment and monitored dive operations throughout the project.

Details
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 New "mule" on for the tow rail at Lock and Dam 6

Mar 18 2020

New "mule" on for the tow rail at Lock and Dam 6

Wade Carr

The new mule and tow rail is installed at Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wis., is used March 17, 2020 to pull the barges out of the lock chamber. This was the first operational use of the new system, which is a vital piece of equipment which assists tows locking through lock and dams when traveling upriver.

Details
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 Tow rail installation

Mar 18 2020

Tow rail installation

Anthony Horacek

The new tow rail is installed at Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wis., February 2020. As opposed to the previous towrail system, the new rail is a continuous 555 foot-long segment where the sections were thermite welded together prior to installation. The resulting piece results in a smooth run for the travel along when pulling barges upriver out of the lock chamber.

Details
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 Tow rail rehabilitation at Lock and Dam 6

Mar 18 2020

Tow rail rehabilitation at Lock and Dam 6

George Stringham

Contractors remove old concrete on the upstream guidewall at Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wis., Jan. 9, 2020, as part of the tow rail rehabilitation project. The system is a vital piece of equipment which assists tows locking through lock and dams when traveling upriver.

Details
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 Tow rail installation

Mar 18 2020

Tow rail installation

Anthony Horacek

The new tow rail is installed at Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wis., as part of the tow rail rehabilitation project . The tow rail is a vital piece of equipment which assists tows locking through locks and dams when traveling upriver.

Details
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 Lock guidewall void

Mar 18 2020

Lock guidewall void

George Stringham

St. Paul District engineers Jake Fall and Wade Carr and project manager Kim Warshaw use a remote camera to inspect a void in the upstream guidewall at Lock and Dam 8 near Genoa, Wis., Jan. 8, 2020. The team was on site reviewing progress of the tow rail rehabilitation project. The the tow rail is a vital piece of equipment which assists tows locking through lock and dams when traveling upriver.

Details
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 tow boat navigates Lake Pepin

Mar 18 2020

First tow reaches Lake Pepin

Patrick N. Moes

The Motor Vessel Miss Doris pushes 12 barges up the Upper Mississippi River in Wabasha, Minnesota, March 18. The tow is the first vessel of the 2020 navigation season to reach Lake Pepin. Located between the Minnesota cities of Red Wing and Wabasha, Lake Pepin is the last major barrier for vessels reaching the head of the navigation channel in St. Paul, Minnesota. The lake is the last part of the river to break up, because the river is wider and subsequently the current is slower there than it is at other reaches of the river. If a tow can make it through Lake Pepin, it can make it all the way to St. Paul. The M/V originated from the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois.

Details
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 Tow boat navigates the Mississippi River

Mar 18 2020

First tow reaches Lake Pepin

Patrick N. Moes

The Motor Vessel Miss Doris pushes 12 barges up the Upper Mississippi River in Wabasha, Minnesota, March 18. The tow is the first vessel of the 2020 navigation season to reach Lake Pepin. Located between the Minnesota cities of Red Wing and Wabasha, Lake Pepin is the last major barrier for vessels reaching the head of the navigation channel in St. Paul, Minnesota. The lake is the last part of the river to break up, because the river is wider and subsequently the current is slower there than it is at other reaches of the river. If a tow can make it through Lake Pepin, it can make it all the way to St. Paul. The M/V originated from the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois.

Details
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 Tow boat navigates the Mississippi River

Mar 18 2020

First tow reaches Lake Pepin

Patrick N. Moes

The Motor Vessel Miss Doris pushes 12 barges up the Upper Mississippi River in Wabasha, Minnesota, March 18. The tow is the first vessel of the 2020 navigation season to reach Lake Pepin. Located between the Minnesota cities of Red Wing and Wabasha, Lake Pepin is the last major barrier for vessels reaching the head of the navigation channel in St. Paul, Minnesota. The lake is the last part of the river to break up, because the river is wider and subsequently the current is slower there than it is at other reaches of the river. If a tow can make it through Lake Pepin, it can make it all the way to St. Paul. The M/V originated from the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois.

Details
Download
City of Hastings hydro plant dewatering diver safety New "mule" on for the tow rail at Lock and Dam 6 Tow rail installation Tow rail rehabilitation at Lock and Dam 6 Tow rail installation Lock guidewall void tow boat navigates Lake Pepin Tow boat navigates the Mississippi River Tow boat navigates the Mississippi River