Rare lowered water levels on Mississippi River draws the curious to Minneapolis
Groups explore the Mississippi River in Minneapolis as the level is lowered for inspections.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used the lock and dam system to start lowering the water levels on the Mississippi this week, giving people a rare look at the river bed.
The Corps said they started lowering the water levels earlier this week and reached their goal of a 12-foot water level drop by Tuesday. The purpose of lowering the water is to get a better look at the lock and dam and other structures that are normally under water.
“I think part of the concern is that the Corps is considering transferring the upper lock and dam to other hands, so just having a good look at what is here is going to be important not only for the corps but the potential new owner,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Nan Bischoff said.
Bischoff said that while the water level is low, Xcel Energy is inspecting their hydro plant near the lock and dam, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation is inspecting the structure of the Stone Arch Bridge.
While the Corps does inspections on the lock and dam about every five years, they haven’t lowered the water level like this since 2008. The rare event draws onlookers, treasure hunters and environmentalists.
“I heard about the draw down on the Mississippi here and I thought what a great opportunity to come down here and see what we could find down here,” treasure hunter Lary Homan said.
Homan said he mostly found cans, bottle caps and other trash in the river bed, but did find an old door knob and a piece of brass knuckles.
“It's a great way to get out and enjoy the day. You don’t get many fall days like this,” Homan said.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota are also taking advantage of the low water levels. Liz Nelson and a team from the U are out finding, documenting and rescuing native river mussels. The lowering of the water left many high and dry, at risk of death.
“What we’re doing is we’re just walking the beach here and if we find a mussel we are taking pictures of it, knowing what kind of species are out here, and then we’re tossing them to deeper water to save them, basically,” Nelson said.
Others, like watercolor artist Aaron Nytroe, aren’t looking to the ground as much as he’s looking to the sky.
“I have been waiting for this moment for a really long time to get a great view of the river,” Nytroe said.
Some come to the river out of curiosity, or, like 9-year-old Elsa Rismoen says, because her mom made her come.
“It smells horrible,” she said. “Now I feel like what a fish feels like.”
The Corps will be out at the lock and dam Wednesday and Thursday until 4 p.m. answering questions about the project. On Wednesday, they they plan to start slowly raising the water level back up to normal.