IMPROVEMENT OF RIVERS AND HARBORS IN THE ST. PAUL, MINN., DISTRICT This district comprises western Wisconsin, a small western portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan, the major portion of Minnesota, northern and eastern North Dakota, and small portions of northeastern South Dakota and northern and northeastern Iowa embraced in the drainage basins of the Mississippi River and tributaries from its source to mile 614 above the mouth of the Ohio River, of the Red River of the North and tributaries, and of those streams north of the Missouri River Basin in North Dakota. That section of Mississippi River above mile 614 is included in the report on Mississippi River between Missouri River and Minneapolis, Minn. District engineer: Col. Lynn C. Barnes, Corps of Engineers. Division engineer: Col. Malcolm Elliott, Corps of Engineers. 6. Examinations, surveys and contingencies (general) 1307 15. Tongue River Reservoir, 7. Other navigation projects for which no estimates N. Dak. 1321 16. Lac qui Parle Reservoir, 8. Plant allotment 1308 Minnesota River, Minn. 17. Upper Mississippi River Basin, St. Paul district 18. Preliminary examinations, surveys, and contingencies for flood control 1322 1325 1326 1. MISSISSIPPI RIVER, BETWEEN THE MISSOURI RIVER AND MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (ST. PAUL DISTRICT) For report on this improvement see page 1255. 2. RESERVOIRS AT HEADWATERS OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER Location.-Reservoirs are located on the Mississippi River and several of its tributaries, in Itasca, Beltrami, Hubbard, Aitkin, Cass, and Crow Wing Counties, Minn., as follows: 672607-46-pt. 1. vol. 26 Previous project.-Adopted by the River and Harbor Act of June 14, 1880. For further details see page 1888 of the Annual Report for 1915, and page 1098 of the Annual Report for 1938. Existing project. This provides for the reconstruction of the five original reservoir dams, viz, Winnibigoshish, Leech Lake Pokegama, Sandy Lake, and Pine River, and the construction of Gull Lake Reservoir. The estimated cost revised in 1928, exclusive of amount expended on previous projects, was $895,000. The estimated cost of operation and maintenance of the reservoirs, made in 1936, is $25,000 annually. The above dams are of solid concrete construction, Pokegama being built on bedrock and the others on pile foundations. The Sandy Lake Dam includes a lock 160 feet long, 30 feet wide, with a maximum lift of 9.5 feet and a depth of 2.5 feet on the lower sill at low water. The abandonment of the ditches to connect Long Lake to Round Lake and Round Lake to Gull Lake was recommended in House Document No. 413, Sixtyfourth Congress, first session, and was ordered by Congress in the River and Harbor Act of July 27, 1916. The existing project was authorized by the following river and harbor acts: For maps see pages 1973 and 1978, Annual Report for 1911. Lower operating limits authorized by regulations approved Dec. 29, 1944 Local cooperation.-Fully complied with. Operations and results during fiscal year.--The reservoirs were >perated as required and the necessary repairs made to the appurenant structures. Major repair items included repairs to dwelling and partial repair of timber retaining wall at Leech Lake dam site. The precipitation in the area of the reservoirs during May hrough August 1944 averaged about 25 inches, or 9.7 inches above normal. This heavy rainfall resulted in high stages in the reservoirs and in the Mississippi River at Aitkin, Minn. During July and August 1944 the discharges from Winnibigoshish and Leech Reservoirs were kept considerably below the natural discharges, an operation which resulted in a reduction of about 2 feet in the Mississippi River flood stage at Aitkin. As soon as the stage at Aitkin permitted, stored water was released from these two reservoirs until the middle of September 1944 when the discharge rates were fairly stabilized. During the fall the discharges were considerably heavier than normal resulting in some flooding and slight damages, but the United States holds flowage rights on all lands affected. The discharges from the other reservoirs from the beginning of the fiscal year to the spring of 1945 were varied substantially in accordance with the inflow rates in order to hold the reservoir levels at safe stages, except for reduced discharges during July 1944 from Pokegama reservoir in order to assist in the reduction of the flood stage at Aitkin, Minn. From March 20 to May 1, 1945, the Mississippi River was above flood stage at Aitkin, Minn., due to heavy runoff from snow melt and rains in the uncontrolled areas in the river basin above Aitkin and partially due to the discharges from the reservoirs made necessary by the high stages therein. Heavy discharges were made after the peak stage had been reached in order to reduce the levels in the reservoirs to safe stages. Due to low rainfall in April and May 1945 and the fact that heavy discharges were continued until desirable reservoir stages were attained, the reservoirs were low enough at the close of the fiscal year to provide partial flood control. During the year there was a net inflow of about 1,886,000 acre-feet into the reservoirs and about 2,225,000 acre-feet were discharged, resulting in a net decrease in storage of about 339,000 acre-feet. Mean monthly stages for the fiscal year' Reservoir July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June The mean monthly stage is the average of the stages on the 1st, 10th, 20th, and last day of the month. The total costs for the year were $21,581.84 for operating and care. The total expenditures were $21,539.31. Condition at end of fiscal year. The existing project was completed in 1937. The 5 dams originally built of timber have been reconstructed of concrete. A concrete dam has been constructed at Gull Lake. Three dikes at Winnibigoshish, 4 at Pokegama, 2 at Sandy Lake, and 16 at Pine River have been constructed. Flowage rights have been acquired on all lands affected by the construction, maintenance, and operation of the reservoirs. The total costs under the existing project to June 30, 1945, were $1,076,721.03, being $881,985.49 for new work and $194,735.54 for operating and care. The total expenditures were $1,076,577.41. In addition, the sum of $967,197.08 was expended between February 1, 1895, and June 30, 1936, on the operating and care of the works of improvement under the provisions of the permanent indefinite appropriation for such purposes. Proposed operations.-The unexpended balance June 30, 1945. plus an expected allotment, will be applied as follows: Accounts payable, June 30, 1945 Maintenance (operating and care): Operation Ordinary repairs Improvement and reconstruction Unallocated balance Total $143.62 25,000.00 1, 600.00 3,000.00 89.79 29, 833. 41 The additional sum of $30,000 can be profitably expended during the fiscal year 1947, as follows: Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending 30,000.00 1 Exclusive of available funds. 3. ST. CROIX RIVER, WIS. AND MINN. Location. The source of the river is in northwestern Wisconsin. It is about 164 miles long and for its greater part forms the boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota. It flows southwesterly and then southerly into the Mississippi River at Prescott, Wis., 41.5 miles below the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge, Minneapolis, Minn. The portion included in this improvement extends from the mouth to Taylors Falls, a distance of 52.3 miles. (See U. S. Geological Survey map of Minnesota, scale 1:500,000, for general location.) Existing project.-This provides for the maintenance of a channel about 25 miles in length, 9 feet in depth and of suitable width from the mouth to Stillwater in connection with the improvement of the upper Mississippi River to afford a depth of 9 feet, and a channel 3 feet deep at mean low water, between Stillwater and Taylors Falls (28 miles); also the improvement of the harbor and water front at Stillwater. The estimate of cost of new work, revised in 1927, was $150,400. The latest (1941) approved estimate for annual cost of maintenance for that portion of the project between the mouth and Stillwater is $10,000. The latest authorization (1939) for mainte |