1. Environmental Pool Management in the Upper Mississippi River: Managing Water Levels to the Benefit of both Navigation and the Environment Edward Brauer Joan StemLer - USACE Ben McGuire - USACE Brian JohnSon- USACE Gretchen BenJamin – The Nature Conservancy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District
FOUO – Do Not Release Outside MVS.

2. Navigation within the St Louis District
Melvin Price
Locks & Dam
L&D 24
Illinois River
Missouri River
Locks 27
5 Locks and Dams, 4 with regulating control and 3 on the mainstem Mississippi, last one we (WC) controls is Mel Price. Open river from St. Louis to the Gulf.
Mississippi River
L&D 25
Low Water Dam 27
Kaskaskia L&D

3. Managing Water on the Upper Mississippi River
Dam Point Control vs Hinge Point Control
Dam Point Control
The Navigation Pool is regulated at the Lock and Dam within 0.5 to 1.0 ft band limits
Hinge Point Control
The Navigation Pool is regulated from two points, the Lock and Dam and a location in the pool
St Louis District Manages through Hinge Point Control (Pool 24-26)

4. Visualizing Hinge Point Operation
L&D 25
RM – 241.2
Flow
Melvin Price Locks and Dam
Hinge Point Limits, Grafton:
May be exceeded if at maximum drawdown
or Alton at 414.0
Alton Lower Limit: 414.0
Pool Limits:
Grafton
RM – 218.6
Low Flow / Flat Pool
Government Owned Flowage Easements
Mel Price L&D RM

5. Visualizing Hinge Point Operation
L&D 25
RM – 241.2
Flow
Grafton
RM – 218.6
Low Flow / Flat Pool
Government Owned Flowage Easements
Mel Price L&D RM

6. Visualizing Hinge Point Operation
L&D 25
RM – 241.2
Flow
Grafton
RM – 218.6
Increasing / Decreasing Flow
Environmental Pool Management Zone
Government Owned Flowage Easements
Mel Price L&D RM

7. Visualizing Hinge Point Operation
L&D 25
RM – 241.2
Flow
Grafton
RM – 218.6
Maximum Drawdown
Environmental Pool Management Zone
Government Owned Flowage Easements
Mel Price L&D RM

8. Visualizing Hinge Point Operation
L&D 25
RM – 241.2
Flow
Grafton
RM – 218.6
Open River
Environmental Pool Management Zone
Government Owned Flowage Easements
Mel Price L&D RM

9. What is Environmental Pool Management?
Goal: Provide habitat for fish and wildlife by managing water levels in navigation Pools 24, 25 and 26 to promote plants growth in shallow areas, typically along the shoreline of the river.
Ongoing since 1994
Adaptive Management! - based on flows
Daily/hourly gate movements at the dams
Pilot project – 2015 to present - Extend the period of growth

10. Environmental Pool Management Imperative
Continue to provide a safe and dependable navigation channel.
BUILDING STRONGSM

11. Environmental Pool Management
Started in 1994 with a relatively modest request
Can we provide lower water and expose shoreline during the growing season?
Request was for .5 ft for 30 days during the growing season, with a slow rise.
We tried it and turns out that yes we could
Have successfully executed EPM of some type every year since 1994
2014 we had a extended period of EPM and noted some really great results which shifted our thinking…….

12. Environmental Pool Management Goals (since 2014)
Utilize the following parameters as general guidelines:
Begin EPM around April 1st
Before the majority of fish spawn begins
Reduces likelihood of fish being stranded.
Continue EPM from May 1st for at least 90 days or until hydrologic conditions require routine dam operations
the period most suitable for vegetative growth and seed production.
At the end of EPM, allow the pool to rise at a rate <0.3 foot per day or a rate recommended by the EPM Coordination Team
Slow rise allows vegetation to survive and continue to grow

13. Environmental Pool Management Requirement
Close coordination with resource managers in the field
Environmental conditions will vary from year to year
Time of year, temp, and precipitation all have an effect
Field managers provide valuable insight into actual conditions
Provide significant suggestions relative to needed adjustments.

14. 2014 EPM got people thinking

15. Rethinking convention - Summer 2014
Cyperus spp.
Fall panicgrass (Panicum dichotomiflorum)
Cyperus spp.
Wild millet (Echinochloa crusgalli)
Smartweed spp. (Polygonum spp.)
Sedge spp. (Carex spp.)
In 2014, we noticed great species diversity
Specifically the come back of perennial species (arrowhead)

16. What Can We Achieve?
2015
2017
2016

17. Biological Response to EPM Biological Response to EPM

18. Floating Leaf plants come back

19. Diversity of Vegetation
-structural diversity
- short species that would have been inundated with previous day operations.

20. Compounding effect? Perennial species beginning to come back
- the more years we can accomplish longer duration water level reductions, the better the will be

21. Vegetative Response Pool 24 - June 2016
This and three following slides show vegetation growth progression.

22. Vegetative Response Pool 24 - Early July 2016

23. Vegetative Response Pool 24 - Late July 2016

24. Vegetative Response Pool 24 - August 2016
The extream height (8 ft tall smartweed) shows that there definitely some nutrient uptake occurring
This has broad implications for reducing the Gulf Hypoxia

25. Successful Endangered Species Nesting – Interior Least Tern
Federally endangered least tern using the sandbar
Would not have occurred during normal operations.

26. Pollinator Habitat

27. Seed Produced for Migratory Waterfowl
Pool 26
Produced 650 lbs./ac
~ 1300 acres
~ 885,149 pounds of seed
30,000 ducks for 110 days
Pool 24
Produced 750 lbs./ac
~ 315 acres
~ 239,200 pounds of seed
8200 ducks for 110 days

28. Benefits to Fish
Summer
Fall
SIU-C 2002

29. And bugs (macroinvertebrates)
SIU-C 2002

30. Residual vegetation
May 2015 – Pool 26
May 28, Ellis Bay

31. If You Remember Nothing Else!
Ballpark estimate >1500 acres in 2016
Increased diversity throughout the sites (perennial and annual)
Increased structural diversity (short and tall)
Increased sediment consolidation
Nutrient Cycling (8 ft. tall plants)
Early successional forest establishment – bank stabilization
Increased vegetation production (annuals and perennials)
Increased food availability for fish and wildlife
Early timing increased mudflat habitat during the spring for migratory shorebirds
Increased structure and diversity for fish and macroinvertebrates

32. Upper Mississippi River Basin Wide Workshop April 2017
Where Are We Going?
Goal: Systemic Implementation throughout Upper Mississippi River
Upper Mississippi River Basin Wide Workshop April 2017
Outcomes
Expand and implement water level management opportunistically
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis in other pools
Address any policy and program implementation issues
Implement drawdowns in Pools 13 and 18
Determine and seek necessary funding
Further define how hydrology and hydraulics affect river management

33. Special Thanks
Sustainable Rivers Program
The Nature Conservancy
USFWS
Missouri Dept. of Conservation
Illinois Department of Conservation
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association