Mississippi River Headwaters Lakes in Minnesota
Abstract
In response to the 1988 drought, the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers reviewed the low flow portion of its water control plan for the Mississippi Headwaters lakes projects. This review concludes that the routine flow discharge rates for each project lake are adequate for present needs. However, some institutional aspects need updating. This report contains proposed changes to the low flow plan including: (1) interagency coordination procedure with specific triggers for stepped responses as conditions worsen, including identification of low flow emergency conditions in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area; (2) organization of the St. Paul district in-house drought management team and (3) preparation and use of a public information plan specific to droughts. The relative priority for use of Federal project waters at the Headwaters project is commercial navigation first, Treat Trust resources second, and general public good third. It is expected that emergency conditions that would justify releases in excess of the routine low flow plan to be rare. This report describes the decision-making and coordination process that would be followed by the St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers in the unlikely event that emergency supplemental flows might be needed from the Headwaters lakes project. Droughts, Mississippi River, Inland navigation, Indian treaties.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA264282
Entities
Organizations
- St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers