Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard urges boaters to stay off flooded rivers

(U.S. Coast Guard photo)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard are urging people to stay off of flooded rivers.

Due to large amounts of debris, fast currents, unmarked submerged objects and other dangerous conditions, the U.S. Coast Guard are requiring recreational boaters to refrain from boating on flooded areas of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois River.

Rivers are unpredictable and dangerous in a flood. Even if someone has lived along a river his whole life, he shouldn’t assume it will behave the same way during a flood. It’s not a good time to be recreating on or near the rivers.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers join in urging all citizens to keep safety uppermost in their minds, especially during this high water event:

• Watch the situation around you especially if you live or work in flood-prone areas.
• Stay in touch through the media for latest updates and warnings.
• Have a “what if” plan if you live or work in a flood prone area.
• Do not wade or swim or take recreation boats into river waters.  They are especially treacherous now.
• Turn around ... don't drown!" Never drive through floodwaters or on flooded roads.

 For more information, visit http://bit.ly/floodfight2013

Audubon Center at Riverlands to hold grand opening celebration Oct. 15

 

The Audubon Center at Riverlands.

Bird enthusiasts, nature lovers, students and families are invited to celebrate the grand opening of The Audubon Center at Riverlands this Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10:30 a.m.  The Center’s opening will include guided tours, fisheries demonstrations, exhibits, live birds and crafts for children. 

The Audubon Center is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District and the National Audubon Society. 

Located near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, the Center is surrounded by 3700 acres of prairie marsh and forest at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

 “The Audubon Center’s perfect location near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers will provide tremendous opportunities for education, conservation, and recreation for the public,” Dr. Patricia Hagen, executive director of the Audubon Center at Riverlands said. “From here, visitors can learn about the natural environment and wildlife around them, then go out and reconnect in the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary.”

The confluence region has been the focus of more than $170 million of private and public investment, reshaping the area as a prime destination for nature tourism and bird watching. 

 “The Mississippi Flyway is one of the most significant migratory flyways in the world, and over 60% of North American birds use the Mississippi Flyway during their migration,” said Charlie Deutsch, wildlife biologist at the Rivers Project Office. “More than 325 bird species migrate through the confluence area, including trumpeter swans, American bald eagles and American white pelicans.”

 The Audubon Center at Riverlands is located at 301 Riverlands Way, adjacent to the Rivers Project Office in West Alton, Mo. For a full schedule of events and more information, visit http://www.riverlands.audubon.org, and on Facebook: Audubon Center at Riverlands http://on.fb.me/osajWG, Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary http://on.fb.me/pazY4Q.

Dredging helps restore Mississippi River channel

Dredge Potter

The St.Louis District is authorized to maintain a minimum 9-foot deep, 300-foot wide navigation channel on 300 miles of the Mississippi River from Saverton, Mo. to Cairo, Ill., the lower 80 miles of the Illinois River and on the lower 36 miles of the Kaskaskia River.

This mission is accomplished in several ways. The channel patrol boat, MV Pathfinder, identifies possible dredging locations by performing channel reconnaissance surveys. MV Pathfinder also assists the Coast Guard with buoy positioning on the navigable waterways within the St. Louis District boundaries.

Another method used by our Engineering Hydraulics Branch is designing and building structures in the river, such as dikes and revetments that maintain sufficient depths in the waterway. Locks and dams also play a vital role in maintaining navigation on the upper Mississippi River.

Water management and dredging round out the tools used to maintain the channel.

Dredging in the St. Louis District is accomplished by using hydraulic pipeline dredges, -- Dredge Potter and Dredge America. A hydraulic dredge mixes large quantities of water with the excavated material (almost always sand in the St. Louis District) to create a slurry which is then pumped out of the navigable channel.

Dredge Potter is a dustpan dredge, a type of dredge specifically designed by the Army Corps of Engineers for work on the Mississippi River. The dustpan is very efficient in excavating sand material from the river bottom.

Dredge America is a cutterhead dredge operated by a contractor. This type of dredge is used to excavate hard material and pump it a long distance.

Dredging is coordinated with other agencies so that our operations are done with as little disruption as possible and in an environmentally sensitive manner.

The combined waters of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers typically assure adequate depths for navigation, except for periods of prolonged drought. Still, much effort is needed to facilitate navigation in the open river, usually in the form of maintenance dredging and regulating works. Maintenance dredging operations involve the repetitive removal of naturally deposited sediment from the navigation channel.

Micro-Model

The St. Louis District Applied River Engineering Center uses table-top “micro-models” to develop innovative solutions to various sedimentation problems. More often than not, these solutions are found in what we call “regulating works”. Regulating works are structural designs, such as chevron dikes, bendway weirs, off-bankline revetments, and notched dikes. By necessity, our river engineers seeks to implement structural designs that work in harmony with the natural laws of the river to solve problems involving sedimentation, erosion and biological diversity, all while providing a safe and dependable navigation channel.