Posted on February 10, 2022
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is urging extreme caution downstream of Lock and Dam 8 in Genoa, Wisconsin, the week of Feb. 7. There will be an abundance of ice being released and subsequent open water and/or thin ice, causing possible safety concerns for anyone on the ice downstream.
It is highly recommended that recreational users do not fish below the lock chamber or below the dam due to the unknowns of these conditions as well as the possibility of being stranded due to the open water.
The release of ice is due to contractor movements in the lock chamber associated with the ongoing winter maintenance. The contract fleet will back out of the lock chamber, turn around downstream and then park on the lower guide wall.
All lock construction activities are scheduled to be completed during the winter to avoid impacts to the navigation industry. The completed work will improve safety for Corps lock operators and industry deckhands.
The St. Paul District’s navigation program provides a safe, reliable and 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.
