Tower US Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District Tim VOL. 5, NO.8, January 1984

A review of the District in 1983 1983 is now history and we move into the gate sill, and providing new armor at the sinkers of every description, as well as the usual year made famous by George Orwell, 1984. As ladders, floating mooring bitts, and at the upper spherical "reservior eggs," the result of rocks we move into the new year looking forward to and lower gate bays. The remaining stages will tumbling in the basin's "grinding mill." Not the challenges to come, it is also fitting that we include resurfacing of the lower guidewall and many of the items were in a usable condition, take a moment to look back at the challenges backside of the riverside lockwall, ·replacement but the "eggs" make great conversation pieces. and accomplishments of the Rock Island Dis­ of the upper lift gate machinery, and stabiliza­ As a prelude to the District inheriting por­ trict in 1983. tion of the lockwalls. tions of the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, a As such, the following pages are devoted to a The rehabilitation at Brandon Road will cost preliminary investigation was conducted of the review of the District's activities in 1983. approximately 17.5 million dollars and will be approach dike to the MSD hydropower plant Without further fanfare we present: the Rock completed in three stages. The first stage, sche­ at Lockport. Geotechnical Branch was assigned Island District in 1983. duled for award in January 1984, will include the job to install weirs and to measure seepage resurfacing the entire lock chamber, resurfacing flows. The level of the canal was lowered and of the upper guidewall, resurfacing and stabili­ raised in an attempt to determine the source of Engineering activities zation of the lower guidewall, rehabilitation of the water. Electric conductivity was also tried diverse.. in 1983 the lock gates, and replacement of the lock in an effort to learn if water was seeping over electrical system. The second stage of work will or through or under an old buried concrete In 1983, Engineering Division continued to include replacement of the miter gate machin­ wall. improve the use and management of its resour­ ery, and the final stage will include rehabilita­ During the summer of 1983 the Des Moines ces in support of its mission. Fred Ciaccio con­ tion of the dam. River reservoirs remained at high levels for 3 verted the majority of Engineering Division's The first stages at Lockport and Brandon months. Since this was the first significant event manual resource management program into an Road Locks will require a complete lock clo­ for several years, Red Rock and Geotechnical automated system in Calendar Year 1983. This sure. This will be accomplished simultaneously Branch personnel obtained observation well conversion to automation has resulted in a between 5 July 1984 and 8 September 1984. temperature and weir data and samples for highly efficient, cost effective, and accurate data The remaining stages of work will be accomp­ mineral tests for a continuing seepage study. An management system providing meaningful in­ lished under traffic. The completion of the analysis and report are to be completed for Red formation in support of decision making pro­ Lockport Lock Major Rehabilitation is sche­ Rock Dam over the winter. cesses. duled for June 1985. The completion of the Two rock jobs are contracted to be under­ The year 1983 has been significant for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam Major Rehabili­ way next year. Riprap for Red Rock Dam Design Branch, especially in the Jobs Bill Pro­ tation is scheduled for December 1986. involves a quarry near Hannibal, Missouri, in gram, the Military Support Program, and the During 1983, the Geotechnical Branch was the lower end of the District. Rockfill for Ack­ Major Rehabilitation Program for the Lockport involved in some unusual subsurface explora­ erman's Cut will come from the Bellevue, Iowa, Lock and Brandon Road Lock and Dam, loca­ tory work which turned up some interesting area. Geotechnical Branch geologists have been ted on the lllinois Waterway. These locks were artifacts. At the request of Planning Division, and will be providing assistance to Construc­ built in 1933 and are in an advanced state of several test pits were excavated in the Mark tion Division for these two projects. deterioration. The Major Rehabilitation Pro­ Twain Historical District of Hannibal, Mis­ Also coming up will be two rehabilitation gram is vital to the preservation of the useful­ souri. The study was conducted as part of pre­ jobs on the lllinois Waterway. Geotechnical ness, integrity, and safety of these structures in liminary planning for the proposed Hannibal Branch and Design Branch personnel are plan­ order to maintain reliable navigation along our Local Flood Protection project. Some of the ning to work with area engineer representatives waterways. rubble found in the pits are believed to be rem­ on the tiedown and renovation of the Lockport The rehabilitation at Lockport will cost nants of the early river settlements. and Brandon Road Locks. approximately 20.2 million dollars and will be Artifacts of a more recent vintage were recov­ At the time the final land acquisition was completed in four stages. The first stage, awar­ ered by Operations Division divers during the being obtained for the Fulton, Illinois, project ded in September 1983, consists of replacing underwater inspection of the Coralville Dam Mississippi River Levee, possible movement of the lower miter gates and machinery, modify­ stilling basin. These included assorted tools, ing the upper lift gates, stabilizing the upper spark plugs, window weights, fish hooks, and Engineering (Cont. page 2) Engineering (Cont.) the Lyons Bridge foundation was questioned Our Survey Branch was distinguished in studies were conducted during the contract because of the closeness and weight of the levee 1983 by the selection of its Chief, Bill Riebe, studies. embankment to the piers. A wall was substi­ for a Development Assignment at the Office of The Water Quality Section cooperated with tuted for an embankment, but sandfill was the Chief of Engineers, where he developed Operations Division in petitioning the Illinois required for a foundation. The specifications standardized Surveying manuals, and was des­ Environmental Protection Agency for a var­ required precise level measurements for the ignated as an instructor for Corps-wide training iance from the normal permitting process re­ four piers. During construction, instrumentation for surveyors at Huntsville. quired for dredging on the Illinois Waterway. information was obtained by the contractor and For Hydraulics Branch, CY 1983 was a year The section also assisted USEPA in investiga­ furnished interested persons by the area engi­ of intensive workload ranging from the devel­ tion of pollution inputs to Pool 15 and deve­ neer. Geotechnical Branch was responsible for opment of H&H appendices for many projects loped a monitoring program to answer addi­ the analysis and monitoring of data. Plots to the installation of the satellite downlink sys­ tional questions raised by initial sampling effort. showed no movement of the bridges, but set­ tem at Rock Island District. H&H appendices Three Dam Break Studies were completed in tlement in the levee foundation. The bridge were completed for large projects such as 1983. They included Virden Creek, Page Park, piers were on deep piles into sand and not Moline and Davenport and for several small and Saylorville Lake. affected. projects such as Pontiac, Waverly, Fox River in Several recon studies for Section 205, 208, Since the development of the Survey Branch Wisconsin, etc. Hydropower Hydraulic Studies and 14 were completed as part of ongoing sup­ approximately 50 years ago, Bonnie Norton is were completed for Marseilles on the Illinois port to the Planning Division. Section 22 Stu­ the first full-time female employee. Bonnie, a River and for Locks and Dams 13, 18, and 22 dies were initiated at Bloomington, Illinois, and Cartographic Technician in Survey Branch, on the Mississippi River. Flood Insurance Stu­ Skunk River Basin, Iowa. Hydraulics inputs came to the District in November of 1982. dies at Galesburg, North Utica, Grundy Coun­ were given for Design Branch projects at Bet­ Prior to coming to the District Office, she was ty, La Salle, and Peru, Illinois, were also com­ tendorf, Iowa, East Moline, Fulton, Milan, employed as an Engineering Technician for the pleted this year. Rockford, Waterloo, and Brandon Road. Engineering Section in the Joliet Field Office. Besides the on-going regulation activities, the Hydraulics Branch personnel also assisted in · Bonnie began her career with the Corps of Regulation Section revised the Master Plan for several training courses, mobilization studies, Engineers in 1966 as the only draftsman in the the Water Control Management to include data and a Wilmington District lawsuit. Engineering Section of the Operations Division collection via satellite. The Saylorville Lake at the Joliet Project Office. She became an Regulation Manual was updated to include the MEN-WOMEN Engineering Technician in 1970 and was certi­ revised plan due to the water supply contract fied in 1974. with the State of Iowa. Intensive alternative Part of what you earn is pride. Mississippi cargo up 9 million tons Mississippi River cargo shipments in the month was Lock 19, Keokuk, IA, with Rock Island District of the U.S. Army Corps of 4,787,250 tons of cargo. Engineers during the first 11 months of 1983 are up nine million tons from the same period in 1982. A total of 41,504,675 tons of cargo was reported from January through November 1983, compared to 32,594,918 tons during the Illinois Waterway cargo same period in 1982. up 1.6 million tons Grain shipments made up most of the in­ Pnde may be the biggest reward for serving 1n the Army Reserve. . In addition to the feeling you'll get for serving your crease, raising by eight million tons. Grain Cargo shipments on the Illinois Waterway Country part-t1me. you'll have other rewards. Good pay, for one thmg. You'll be wei~ pa1d for the _16 shipments during the first 11 months of 1983 totaled 50,695,247 tons during the first 11 huurs a month and two weeks Annual Tra1n1ng you put m. There's job-training which could help you in your totaled 27,992,699 tons, compared to months of 1983, up 1.6 million tons from the career. There's low-cost insurance. Plus ret1rement benefits, 1ncluding medtcal and dental care. 19,965,955 tons during the same period in 49,015,445 tons during the same period in But. above all. tt's pnde young men and women are 1 1 1982. Coal shipments during the first 11 1982. earnT~gs ~a r~e t~~mfe=l;~;.r~~~~e""Yrito openings and see it you quality-today. months of 1983 totaled 5,886,764 tons, com­ Grain shipments for the first 11 months of pared to 5,521,725 tons during the same period 1983 totaled 16,992,561 tons, up slightly from Call Army Reserve last year. 16,667,158 tons during the same period of Opportunities Petroleum shipments during the first 11 1982. Coal shipments during the first 11 319-391-1777 months of 1983 totaled 1,506,449 tons, down months of 1983 totaled 10,883,169 tons, up Part of What You Earn is Pride. slightly from the 1,707,622 tons during the from 8,255,870 tons shipped in the same same period in 1982. Miscellaneous shipments period of 1982. during the same period of 1983 totaled Petroleum shipments during the first 11 Illinois Waterway cargo shipments during 6,118,763 tons, up from the 5,399,616 tons months of 1983 totaled 9,511,557 tons, up one November 1983 totaled 4,728,711 tons, down recorded in this period in 1982. million tons from the 8,598,376 tons during the slightly from 4,870,553 tons in October 1983, A new monthly tonnage record of 6,327,584 same period of 1982. Miscellaneous shipments and the busiest lock on the Illinois Waterway tons of cargo passed through the Rock Island for the same period of 1983 totaled 13,307,960 during November was the LaGrange Lock, District during November 1983, and the busiest tons, down from 15,494,041 tons recorded in southwest of Beardstown, IL, with 2,818,570 lock in the Rock Island District during the the same period in 1982. tons of cargo.

Tower Times, January t984, Page 2 ------Planning Division active in 1983 Planning Division was actively involved in Decatur and Chandlerville. tory and analysis of existing levee and drainage the successful accomplishment of a variety of Numerous small project studies were also district facilities for the Skunk River and Nish­ studies during 1983. completed during the year. Section 14 and 208 nabotna River Basins in Iowa. Preliminary hydropower investigations were studies included projects in Knox and Marion Preparation of "The Land Use Allocation completed and detailed feasibility studies started Counties of Missouri, Mahaska and Monroe Plan for the Mississippi River within Rock from Mississippi River Dams 13, 15, 16, 18, Counties in Iowa, Appanoose Township and Island District" was begun in 1983 and is near­ 20, 21, 22, and the Illinois River Marseilles DePue, lllinois, and Ashippun, Wisconsin. ing completion. An updating of the Saylorville Dam. Final hydropower feasibility reports have Section 22 investigations included several recreation-resource master plan was completed. been completed for Mississippi River Dam 14 flood damage reduction reconnaissance studies The recreation-resource master plan updates for and for Starved Rock, Dresden Island, and in the state of Illinois, including a strategic Mississippi River pools 11 and 22 are under­ Brandon Rock Dams on the Illinois River. At planning study for Bloomington-Normal, to way and are scheduled for completion in the this writing, these final reports are at the determine the feasibility of a state funded flood upcoming year. Washirtgton level of review. protection project. Approximately 500 techni­ Cultural resource studies included literature Flood damage reduction studies were ini­ cal service requests were processeci in 1983. searches and geomorphological modelling at tiated for the Illinois Waterway: Mackinaw The Flood Insurance Program in Planning Coralville Lake and Lake Red Rock. Also, an and Vermilion Rivers. The Hannibal, Missouri, Division initiated 19 studies during Fiscal Year archaeological data recovery was done .at Say­ and Rock River Agricultural Levees flood 1983. The Federal Emergency Management lorville Lake. Several test excavations were also damage reduction studies continued under in­ Agency, through an interagency agreement, conducted at several recreation related sites vestigation. Feasibility studies were completed provided the Rock Island District in excess of along the Mississippi River. this year for the South Quincy Drainage and $800,000 to perform the studies in Fiscal Years At the request of the Wisconsin Department Levee District, and the Iowa Cedar River 1984 and 85. of Natural Resources, the Planning Division Basin. Local flood protection project beautification prepared a "Wetland Evaluation Methodol­ Flood damage reduction studies initiated and project area revegetation plans were pre­ ogy." This document contains a procedure for under the authority of Section 205 include pared for Fulton, East Moline, Moline, Milan evaluating wetland functions. Duck Creek, Sac-Fox Indian Reservation, the and Rockford, Illinois, and for Bettendorf, Finally, in 1983 Planning Division also saw city of Tama, Iowa, and the Hunt-Lima Drain­ Iowa. Also, a Mississippi River Pool 11 dredge the successful completion of rehabilitation ac­ age and Levee District in Illinois. Also, Section disposal plan was near completion, with plans tions for numerous buildings located within 'he 205 detailed studies are underway for Waverly, for the other river pools to be initiated in the Arsenal Island National Register District. Oelwein, and Dubuque County, Iowa, and the future. Illinois cities of Pontiac, Liverpool, Pekin, Planning Division initiated in 1983 an inven-

Personal Office highlights Training and Development Branch this investment in dollars and people is realized. nition as the National Federation of Federal During 1983, there were many notable occur­ Employees, Executive Bargaining Council for Position Management and Classification rences in the on-site training area. These "new Branch Corps of Engineers Employees, Rock Island beginnings" included training in areas of mobil­ During the week of October 3 through 7, District. The Executive Bargaining Council is ization, dam safety, diver tender operation, 1983, Mr. Ward Wiercinski, representing the the exclusive representative for all nonsupervi­ marine fire-fighting, accident scene manage­ North Central Division Position Management sory, nonprofessional general schedule and ment, prevention of sexual harrassment, and and Classification staff (PM&C), performed an wage grade employees. Excluded are all super­ cold water survival. New and different modes on-site program review of District PM&C activ­ visors, management officials, confidential em­ of training were also utilized: on-site graduate ities. A primary portion of this review consisted ployees, employees engaged in Federal person­ level engineering course from Iowa State Uni­ of the audit of 10 different jobs with the posi­ nel work in other than a purely clerical ca­ versity via video-tape, computer-directed train­ tion of incumbents. The purpose of the audits pacity, professionals, and temporary employees. ing courses via computer terminals, and Missis­ was to establish adequacy of the job description Distribution of the negotiated agreement was sippi River ecology training aboard the Crest I, and the accuracy of classification and grade completed by 1 September and training of Marycrest College riverboat. Accomplishment supervisory personnel was 95% complete by 5 evaluation. All positions reviewed were found of off-post training was not seriously hampered to be accurate. October 1983. by funding constraints as it had been the pre­ The cooperation of all District employees vious two years. Employee self-development and supervisors who were involved in the pro­ efforts definitely expanded, as reflected by the gram review activities is appreciated. increase in correspondence course enrollments, associate and bachelor degrees earned, and pro­ Management-Employee Relations fessional engineering registrations achieved. Branch During fiscal year 1983, District employees During the first half of CY 1983, the Man­ successfully completed some 30,555 duty and agement-Employee Relations Branch concen­ off-duty hours of training, accomplishing 106% trated on the preparation for and negotiations of the projected District Training Program of a single consolidated agreement between the Plan. The combined efforts of managers, super­ Rock Island District and the National Federa­ "Just how long have you been a visors, Training Committee members, and em­ tion of Federal Employees Locals 446, 552, Marine, Gunny?" ployees alike continue to assure that a return on and 584 which were accorded exclusive recog-

------TowerTimes,January1984, Page3 1983 in Emergency NCO Real Estate Management Division Field Office Five months is a short time, especially when Manager who oversees all aspects of natural During 1983, the Real Estate Field Office you're trying to mitigate the effects of four emergencies as well as manages the budgeting concentrated much effort on acquisition of the separate flash flood events. That's what hap­ for PL 99 and PL 288 FEMA programs, natu­ additional interests in land required at Coral­ pened from March through July of 1982. As if ral emergency preparedness planning, exercises ville Lake, Iowa. In the Saylorville Project, it weren't enough, Mother Nature made sure and training, the associated supplies and equip­ recreation cost-sharing agreements with the we started 1983 off with a "real dandy," for in ment, and emergency management staffing. State of Iowa and the City of Des Moines were December we had record flooding on the Illi­ During 1983 the Natural Emergency Man­ obtained for recreation development in the nois Waterway which led to widespread and ager and the Wisconsin State Emergency Co­ downstream corridor; sloughing easements were extensive damage from Chicago to St. Louis ordinator attended the Wisconsin Governor's acquired at Moingona; and additional land and even worse further down the Mighty Mis­ Conference on Disaster Preparedness. Five interests were purchased at Jester Park to facili­ sissippi into the Gulf. other District employees attended the Corps tate pool raise in connection with the Water Over 100 million dollars in damages was Emergency Management Training Course and Supply Contract. reported and hundreds of people were literally five others attended the Emergency Manage­ Local cooperation generated an unusual left homeless or temporarily evacuated. During ment for Executives Course. During the spring amount of work in 1983, with approximately this period, our District issued over 100,000 of 1983, the Emergency Management Division 425 units of land being made available by local sandbags just in the Peoria-Joliet areas and . held a flood exercise and seminar which was sponsors for projects at Milan and Rockford, flood pumps were issued to critical areas. attended by 50 District employees and the Illinois, Bettendorf and Waterloo, Iowa, and at Thousands of other sandbags were previously NCO Natural Emergency Manager. many emergency projects for streambank ero­ available through county and local sources, a The past year has also been a busy one on sion control, snagging and clearing, and farm policy which the Corps is encouraging nation­ the National Emergency Preparedness side of levee rehabilitation. wide. Flood area engineers were dispatched the house. Major accomplishments during 1983 After several months work and close coordi­ from the Peoria and Joliet offices to provide include reestablishment of the Radiological nation with OCE and the Assistant Secretary of on-site technical assistance on a 24-hour basis. Defense (RADEF) Program, participation in a the Army's office, the forma~ for the Local During this crisis, the Emergency Operation major national preparedness exercise, comple­ Cooperation Agreement at Davenport, Iowa, Center was activated with staff personnel also tion of Memorandums of Understanding was approved. The agreement contains innova­ on call 24 hours. Other significant events dur­ (MOU's) with Omaha and Louisville Districts tive financing procedures and will be used as a ing this period included two flights on the Illi­ for Military Construction (MILCON) support, prototype for similar agreements at other pro­ nois Waterway by Corps officials including a and revision of the NCR Mobilization Plan jects in the United States. Command Flight by BG Smith and LTC Manzi (NCRMP). In the management of Corps lands in the accompanied by the NCO and District Emer­ The RADEF program consists of having two Rock Island District during 1983, we adminis­ gency Managers. Another flight was made in trained Radiological Monitors and two sets of tered approximately 1175 various types of out­ which the waterway was video taped by our RADEF monitoring equipment at each LID, grants and 338 ,special use licenses to Federal, photo lab. reservoir, and District Headquarters. In addi­ State, County, imd local agencies, and private As a result of this event, 27 Illinois counties tion to this capability, about six district em­ individuals. A great deal of effort was also were declared Federal disaster areas by the ployees will be trained as Radiological Defense required in the resolution of encroachment President. The Federal Emergency Manage­ Officers to supervise radiological monitoring problems on project lands. A total of 74 en­ ment Agency (FEMA) then became the host and reporting should the need ever arise. croachments were resolved in the Coralville, agency and called upon us to head up the The MOU's with Louisville and Omaha Dis­ Red Rock, Saylorville, Mississippi River and necessary damage survey teams which worked tricts establish responsibilities for our District Illinois Waterway Projects. in conjunction with the St. Louis District. in General Support of MILCON at the Rock Two major disposal actions accomplished in In addition to the tens of thousands of acres Island Arsenal, Savanna Army Depot Activity, 1983 were the :sale of timber and disposal of of farmland and urban areas that were flooded, and Iowa Army Ammunition Plant if mobiliza­ land. hundreds of miles of levees were stressed to the tion is ever declared. Those facilities would We conducted two timber sales, receiving maximum and many failed. One factor which become our complete responsibility on Mobili­ $19,870.76 from the sale of 597,650 board feet contributed to the heavy losses was that some zation Day. of standing timber in Mississippi River Pools of the levees, still under remedial construction The third major accomplishment in 1983 is 18 and 22. The timber harvest is part of the from flash flooding of 1982, were totally inun­ completion of a revised NCRMP. The NCRMP overall timber management plan for Govern­ dated by the record flows and sustained addi­ defines and establishes responsibilities for each ment land administered by the Corps. tional extensive damage. Existing PL 99 work division/separate office in the event of mobili­ Four parcels of land, totaling 67.49 acres, was halted and would require additional con­ zation and becomes the District Operational were declared excess and reported to the struction. Nearly 70 new requests for PL 99 aid Plan on Mobilization Day. General Services Administration for disposal. came in from distraught farmers and levee dis­ In July, the Emergency Management Div­ Three parcels are located in the Coralville Pro­ tricts. Inspections were delayed by lingering ision moved into its new location on the third ject and one in Pool12 of the Mississippi River high water and poor weather; however, 58 per­ floor of the Clock Tower. These new facilities Project. cent of these requests were found eligible for provide both a greatly' improved working envi­ . PL 99 funding and a seasonal record was estab­ ronment as well as secure quarters for use dur­ lished for levee rehabilitation, a remarkable ing exercises or actual emergencies. achievement accomplished by the combined, cooperative efforts of our staff. The District's Emergency Management Di­ vision now has a full-time Natural Emergency

Tower Times, January 1984, Page 4 ------Illinois Waterway Project Office Work In 1983 The Illinois Waterway Project Office started Four lock culvert valves were replaced at production of new wickets for the Peoria and out the year by receiving 61 requests for emer­ Dresden Island Lock and four more valves LaGrange Dams. gency levee repairs of damage caused by freak were rebuilt for installation at Marseilles Lock The Technical Support Unit also had a busy December floods. Eventually, 34 levees were for the upcoming year. The repair crews were year. After accomplishing the flood damage repaired during the summer under 12 contracts. involved with many lock and dam maintenance surveys for December floods, they inspected 28 The 1983 spring floods were relatively mild, jobs, which are too numerous to mention. Federal and 74 non-Federal levees for mainte­ with only 16 requests for levee repairs. This However, some were as follows: Replaced nance deficiencies. The Unit then became in­ resulted in two more contracts during the fall of seals on various lock gates (diving operation); spectors for the Construction Division, and 21 the year. replaced trash racks at Lockport Lock; over­ contruction contracts were administered by this The Channel Maintenance Unit was busy on hauled bubbler systems at two locks; rebuilt office. Saving the best for last, the Administra­ the Waterway, dredging approximately 130,000 diving bulkheads; rebuilt one marineway; reha­ tive Unit kept pace with the added workload C.Y. of material in the various pools. bilitated some lock walls with steel plates; and by accomplishing its normal duties and meeting Both Structures Units (Peoria and Joliet) overhauled two engines on the M.V. PEKIN. all required deadlines on PL-99 reports, pur­ were involved in their normal maintenance of The Shops Unit personnel assisted the Struc­ chasing, timekeeping, travel orders, overtime the eight locks and seven dams located along tures Unit in the above-mentioned jobs and requests and other necessary paperwork. the Waterway. Approximately 50 wickets were also maintained various pieces of equipment replaced at the Peoria and LaGrange Dams. and machinery. The main job, however, was

Construction Division activities Illinois Waterway Visitor in 1983 Center in 1983 Early in January of 1983, Bob Gustafson, value of $1,390,921.00. The biggest event of 1983 was the celebra­ the Chief of the Division, and Tom Risley, The Clinton Area Office was relocated to tion of the 50th anniversary of the Illinois Chief of Contracts Administration, retired. The Bettendorf, Iowa, in October of 1983. The new Waterway. A special anniversary weekend was new Chief of the Division is Jim Blanchar. Jim office is located on State Street in the Plaza held at the Visitor Center with various speakers came to our District on 20 December 1982 Building. Due to damages from floods and high and exhibits commemorating the opening 0f from Taif, Saudi Arabia. waters throughout the District, many emer­ the waterway on June 22, 1933. During calendar year 1983, Construction gency repair contracts were let this year. A spe­ In addition, the Visitor Center personnel Division monitored the construction activities cial thanks to the Illinois Waterway Project conducted the second year of Open House on 50 separate major contracts. Actual work in Office and to personnel in Maintenance Branch weekends at each Illinois Waterway lock and place during CY 83 totaled more than 42 mil­ of Operations Division for their help in the dam site. Visitors were given first-hand look at lion dollars, and 40 of the contracts are still administration and ·inspection of these con­ the lock and dam operation through escorted active. In addition, 162 modifications were tracts. tours. issued to the ongoing contracts with a total The Visitor Center received over 30,000 vis­ itors thru its doors in 1983. Visitor Center per­ Permits program busy sonnel increased their off-site interpretation in 1983 thru an extra effort in Jr. Ranger programs. The center's Ranger and Technicians conducted Dredging done on The Regulatory Functions Branch of Opera­ 270 programs to 45 classes in 1983. Illinois River tions Division continued its active roll during The Visitor Center experimented in a new Fiscal Year 1983 in administering the ever­ media with a 17-minute TV special for a Chi­ For the second year in a row, Rick Vale and changing Department of the Army (DA) per­ cago area cable channel. The program, shown the crew of the Dredge Thompson celebrated mit program. to an estimated audience of 30,000 people, the Thanksgiving festivities aboard the Dredge The DA permit program is by design con­ explained the lock and dam operation at Dubuque dredging on the Illinois Waterway. tinuously dynamic. The types of activities that Starved Rock and invited folks to see tlie oper­ Mobilization of the dredge and attendant require DA permits vary widely from private ation for themselves at the Visitors Center. A plant was completed on the 23rd and dredging boat docks to major barge terminals, and from copy of the tape has been made available to operations commenced at that time. A shoal small bank protection projects to major stream area schools. had developed at mile 146.5 (Kingston Mines channelizations. The geographic range of these The Illinois Waterway Visitor Center was area) which would have resulted in a channel activities occurs from relatively small water­ active in 1983. As the lllinois Waterway moves closure had the pool elevation dropped to low ways and wetlands to the Mississippi River, into its next 50 years of -operations, the Illinois operating level. thus inherently involving a wide range of Waterway Visitor Center will be there to Dredging operations were hampered by high impacts and considerations. explain the Corps role to the Public. water and gale force winds which resulted in The public disclosure process, which is used temporary suspension of work on several occa­ for activities requiring DA permits, generates sions. The cold weather, the first week of widely varied input from a variety of sources, December, eventually halted dredging due to including Federal, state, local and private inter­ unsafe working conditions. Dredging will re­ ests. It is little wonder, as a public notice is sume when Mother Nature permits. A total of 32,540 cubic yards has been removed so far this year. Permits (Cont. page 7)

------TowerTimes,Janua~1984,Page5 RID hydrologic summary Rainfall at most stations in the Upper Missis­ With the above freezing temperatures at the flooding was not as severe as the December sippi River Basin was above normal during the end of February, the District was left with prac­ 1982 flooding. All stations reached flood stage fall months of 1982. In the Illinois River Basin tically no snow on the ground and no potential in this spring flooding, but no significant dam­ the total precipitation for November and De­ for any severe snowmelt flooding. age occurred. cember was 11.9 inches, which is 250 percent Above normal to normal precipitation in Other Rivers of the normal rainfall for these two months. March and April, coupled with some snow The heavy rains in November and December This above normal precipitation caused dra­ cover, produced moderate flooding in the 1982 caused the Kankakee River to rise above matic increases of flow within the Illinois River spring. Following the spring runoff period, pre­ flood stage at all gaging stations along the river Basin during the latter days of 1982. The heavy cipitation was above normal every month system for a period of three days. The river was rains which occurred in November and De­ except July and August in the Mississippi River again above flood stage in April of 1983, crest­ cember also caused some minor flooding on the Basin and the Illinois River Basin. Mississippi ing on 10 April. Mississippi River in the lower portion of our River flows exceeded normal most of the The Vermillion River at Pontiac, Illinois, District. Heavy precipitation in November and summer and fall periods of 1983, while the Illi­ reached a record stage of 19.16 feet on 4 Decefilber also caused our three flood control nois River flows and levels also exceeded nor­ December 1982, surpassing the old record of reservoirs in Iowa to use their flood control mal most the summer and fall periods too. 18.12 feet set on 3 June 1980, as a result of the capabilities to reduce downstream flooding. Mississippi River heavy rains in November and December. The The district assisted the St. Louis District by river stayed above flood stage for five days dur­ Flooding on the Mississippi River during storing flood water in the three flood control ing this event. During 1983 the river did not 1983 was not severe. All stations within the reservoirs to help in reducing the chance of rise above flood stage. District reached flood stage in the middle of overtopping a cofferdam at Lock and Dam 26, The Spoon River at Seville, Illinois, reached March, but no significant damage occurred dur­ in Alton, Illinois. on 5 December 1982, a stage of 26.9 feet, ing this period. The three reservoirs (Coralville, which was 4.9 feet above flood stage. During Winter snowfall was below normal within Red Rock and Saylorville) combined to reduce the eastern portion of our District, however, the the spring of 1983 runoff period the river flooding at Quincy, Illinois by 3.2 feet. The far western portion of our District experienced reached a stage of 26.1 feet on 5 April, and river crested there at a stage of 23.8 feet, but well above normal winter snowfall. Moline, remained above flood stage for five days. would have reached a stage of 27 feet without lllinois, recorded 24.8 inches of snowfall, which Heavy rainfall in November and December the three reservoirs. is 80 percent of normal, while Chicago re­ 1982 caused the Sangamon River to rise above corded 26.6 inches which is just 67 percent of Illinois River flood stage at several locations in Illinois. normal. In Iowa, however, Waterloo recorded Flooding on the Illinois River occurred twice Decatur reached a new record stage of 16.4 38.9 inches of snowfall, which is 121 percent of during the period of November 1982 through feet on 3 December, and on the same day normal. Des Moines recorded 51.5 inches of October 1983. Unusually heavy rains in No­ Rochester reached a stage of 27.5 feet. The snowfall which represents 152 percent of nor­ vember and December 1982 caused the Illinois next day, 4 December, a peak stage of 23.82 mal. River to rise dramatically during December, feet was reached at Riverton. Above normal temperatures and below nor­ with some stations surpassing the flood of Heavy rainfall in November and December mal precipitation were observed in January of record stages. 1982 caused the Mackinaw River to rise out of 1983, while in February temperature and pre­ Spring flooding occurred on the Illinois its banks in early December. Congerville, Illi­ cipitation amounts were both above normal. River in early to mid-April in 1983, but this nois, reached a stage of 20.18 feet on 5

Channel Maintenance 1983 The District performed 16 channel mainte­ The Hannibal Small Boat Harbor was 18 and 22. Excavation of rock, sand, and other nance dredging jobs with the Dredge THOMP­ dredged by contract and the entrance to the material was accomplished in the upper end of SON on the Mississippi River. This was the Moline Small Boat Harbor was dredged by the Pool 15, where such work had not been largest number of individual dredge cuts re­ Channel Maintenance Field Unit. accomplished in many years. Considerable quired to maintain the channel since 1973. The A small amount of channel maintenance excavation was also accomplished just below large number of sites dredged were mostly in dredging was accomplished in the La Grange Lock 19, where the approach channel had pools 18 through 22, and can be attributed to Pool of the Illinois Waterway by the Dredge shoaled in with boulders and sand making the long durations of high river flows, including DUBUQUE which used to belong to Rock lock approach hazardous and the Government flood conditions in December. One emergency Island before it was transferred to St. Paul Dis­ mooring cells unusable. Channel Maintenance dredging job was performed just above Lock trict. Dredging was suspended due to weather personnel were involved in contract supervision 22 in May. This event was without precedent conditions and will resume when conditions and inspection of a half dozen PL 99 levee in our District as the channel shoaled into non­ warrant. Many elements of the District have repair projects, the clearing and snagging of navigable conditions with the dam at Lock and been working on obtaining a Variance from the Gregory Ditch in Pool 20, and removal of Dam 22 fully open and river flow conditions of Illinois Pollution Control Board for exemptions Beaver Dams from the South Slough-Mill Creek approximately 165,000 cubic feet per second. to certain of Illinois State Standards in order to Project near Milan, Illinois. A total of 589,469 cubic yards was dredged in allow dredging of material that is considered The Towboat ANDREWS was provided for 1983 to maintain the channel, which was the polluted by those standards. The Derrick Boat inspection trips on the Illinois Waterway and second largest amount dredged since 1974. Jim MAZON performed removal of rock strikes open house activities at Lock and Dam 15 for Nelson, of the Maintenance Branch, acted as and small shoals in the upper pools of the Illi­ Armed Forces Day. The Towboat ANDREWS the District's on-site dredging coordinator and nois Waterway. and the Towboat ROCK ISLAND made a did a commendable job, while Rick Vale was The Channel Maintenance Field Unit re­ memorable trip to the Black Warrior River in in Alaska. paired wing dams and bank protection in Pools Alabama to tow the Dredge COLLINS (for-

Tn--~-~ lan••a~1QAA Dana~--~------December, which is more than seven feet able flood control storage. The flood control flood waters at our reservoirs. During this cut­ above flood stage. At Green Valley the next operation reduced flood peaks on the Iowa back the level of Lake Red Rock reached a day, a stage of 16.16 feet was attained. River by 3.1 feet at Iowa City, Iowa, by 2.1 stage of 743.7 feet on 10 December, only 15 Heavy November and December rainfall in feet at Lone Tree, and by .9 of a foot at percent of the flood control storage was used. 1982 caused the LaMoine River at Ripley, Illi­ Wapello. At Marshalltown, Iowa, the river The maximum level for Lake Red Rock was nois, to go over its 22 foot flood stage by reached a stage of 18.7 feet on 5 July 1983, 774 feet on 29 May 1983, which represents an almost five feet, peaking at 26.95 feet on 6 more than 5.5 feet above flood stage. At 80 percent usage of available flood control December. Marengo, Iowa, the peak stage for the year was storage. Heavy rainfall in late March and early 18.11 feet, almost five feet above flood stage. At Saylorville Lake, the maximum level April 1983 caused the Rock River at Joslin, The maximum basin monthly precipitation reached in 1983 was 881.2 feet on 23 April. Illinois, to go above the 12 foot flood stage. for 1983 was 6.06 inches in May, and the min­ This level represents 76 percent usage of the The peak stage for 1983 was 15 feet on 5 imum basin precipitation was .8 of an inch in available flood control storage. The operation April. There was also some residential flood­ January. Operation of Coralville Reservoir of Saylorville reduced the peak stage at Des ing near the mouth of the river, but no major prevented $1,100,000 worth of damage down­ Moines' 2nd Avenue and S.E. 14th Street by damage occurred. stream of Coralville Dam in 1983. 2.8 feet each. Snowmelt flooding in February 1983 Heavy rainfall in the lower Cedar River The tandem operation of Saylorville and caused the Turkey River at Garber, Iowa, to Basin caused the river at Conesville, Iowa, to Red Rock Reservoirs reduced peak stage at crest at a stage of 17.55 feet on 22 February, go over its 11 foot flood stage several times in Tracy by 8.8 feet; at Ottumwa by 4.8 feet; and slightly above the flood stage of 17 feet. 1983, reaching a peak of 13.81 feet on 21 at Keosauqua by 4.4 feet. The Tandem opera­ The Wapsipinicon River at DeWitt, Iowa, April. tion of the two reservoirs prevented $10,000,000 was at or over the 10 foot flood stage several There was flooding on the lower Skunk worth of damage downstream of Saylorville times during 1983. The peak stage was 11.63 River Basin in 1983 due to rainfall. The river at ($1,000,000) and Red Rock ($9,000,000) dur­ feet on 4 April, however no damage occurred Augusta, Iowa, reached a peak stage of 19.15 ing 1983. during these flood events. feet on 3 April. Two days later the North Flooding within the northeast Missouri por­ On the Iowa River, Coralville Lake's flood Skunk River at Sigourney, peaked at 17.04 tion of the District occurred in early April control capabilities were used during Novem­ feet, slightly above flood stage. Heavy rainfall 1983. The Fox River at Wayland reached a ber and December 1982, and again from during early July caused the South Skunk stage of 19.12 feet on 3 April, which was four March through July 1983. Outflows were re­ River at Oskaloosa, Iowa, to reach a peak of feet above flood stage. The crest for the South duced twice during the early days of December 20.33 feet on the 7th, more than nine feet Fabius River at Taylor was 16.08 feet on 4 1982 to help reduce flooding within the St. above flood stage. April, which is more than 7 feet above flood Louis District. During this period Coralville On the Des Moines River, Saylorville and stage. The Middle Fabius River at Monticello Lake peaked at an elevation of 693.83 feet. Red Rock Reservoirs used their flood control crested on 4 April at a stage of 23.42, which The maximum lake levels for the period capabilities in December 1982, and from Feb­ was more than 10 feet above flood stage. November 1982 through October 1983 was ruary to August 1983. Outflows from Lake 702.51 feet, reached in July 1983. This maxi­ Red Rock were twice reduced in December mum elevation used 56 percent of the available 1982 to assist the St. Louis District by storing

Permits (Cont.) merly Dredge ROCK ISLAND), to St. Paul normally sent to between 200 arid 2,400 addres­ the Corps' goal being less than 60 accountable District base at Fountain City, Wisconsin. The sees. For each case all input received is consi­ days processing time. For the fourth quarter of dredge will be used as spare parts for the dered in formulating the District's final, public FY 83, the District posted an average process­ THOMPSON, as the two dredges were identi­ interest decision. ing time of 51 days for individual permits, cal when built. The Towboat CLINTON was Our District acts as the lead District in llli­ which is excellent considering that more major provided for open house festivities at Bellevue, nois and Iowa for regulatory matters. Within and difficult projects generally require the most Iowa. Illinois, efforts of Branch staff during the past time and effort. The District's average process­ Channel Maintenance Section underwent a year resulted directly in the issuance of three ing time for all actions, which includes general major reorganization late in 1983. The former additional Statewide Regional Permits. This permits and letters of permission, for the same Channel Maintenance Section was reorganized was aided by an existing and proven workable quarter was 39 days. into two sections. The Channel Maintenance state and Federal coordination system within Regulatory Functions Branch staff are cur­ Section, OD-MC, will have Dick Baker as its Illinois which was also led by District and rently developing and undertaking coordination Chief and will be responsible for maintenance Branch staff. Rock Island also has regulatory efforts within the State of Iowa to develop sys­ dredging on the Mississippi River and Illinois responsibility for the entire State of Iowa, with tem(s) which will ease the regulatory burden Waterway. This consolidation of dredging man­ the exception of the Missouri River. on the public, yet comply with the auspices and agement was dictated by the increasing com­ The Regulatory FunctionSBfailch has also intent of the laws governing the Corps' regula­ plexity of environmental coordination and strived to effectively implement the Command tory program. permit requirements to perform dredging. Cen­ Goal of Support the Nation by providing the The Corps' Regulatory program involves tralizing dredging management at District public with sound, timely decisions in regula­ much more than writing permits. The Regula­ headquarters will also make easier the task of tory matters, and by meeting or exceeding the tory Functions Branch prides itself in working Corps' goal on permit processing. Major em­ with a broad spectrum of people in insuring Maintenance (Cont. page 1 0) phasis has been placed on the "timely" aspect, that the public is served.

------TowerTimes,January1984, Page? Mississippi River project 1983 M<;>re than eight million people visited the Tower was remodeled. They also spent consid­ dams. Approximately 40 percent of the pro­ Mississippi River within the 314 miles of the erable time on regular duties such as repair and grams are presented at schools, civic groups, Rock Island District in 1983. This includes vis­ replacement of restrooms, dump stations, fire scouting groups, and municipal meetings. Top­ itation from official access points, special use rings, picnic tables, roads, etc. ics include lock and dam tours, eagle aware­ areas, most private accesses, or visits originating Eight park rangers and technicians at Locks ness, cold water drowning, white tail deer hab­ from the river's numerous tributaries. Over one and Dams 11, 13, 16, and 21 have completed its, junior rangers, nature hikes, boating safety, and one-half million of these visitors reached their fifth year of service on the river. Their Indian dancing and cultures, and the changing the Mississippi River through Corps maintained duties include patrol of the public use areas for prairie. areas. High unemployment and an extremely visitors' assistance and enforcement of the Rangers at Lock and Dam 13 are publishing hot summer made access to the river more dif­ Rules and Regulations for Public Use Areas. the "Thomson Causeway Newsletter" to inform ficult than usual this year. However, total visita­ Rangers are also involved in boundary surveys, campers and Junior Rangers about what is tion on the Mississippi was up some 6.5 interpretation, resource management, environ­ happening at the park. Rangers at Muscatine, percent mental education, national and local emergen­ Iowa, and Quincy, Illinois, are cosponsoring Two more parks were converted to fee status cies, and public relations. They are available to Explorer Posts. Rangers serve as advisors to the in 1983 with two more scheduled for 1984. speak on many subjects concerning the Corps posts on projects of their choosing. Eagle Jobs bill money permitted the installation of and have spoken to service club, church groups, Watch IV, an annual program including child­ shower buildings at Blanding's Landing and and town councils. Rangers are trained in CPR ren's skits, displays, watch tours, and expert Clark's Ferry. Grant River and Shady Creek and many are Emergency Medical Technicians speakers has become the highlight of the inter­ are scheduled for shower buildings and water­ in case of accidents and injuries in some of the pretation program at Lock and Dam 21. borne restrooms by May of 1984. All the remote parks. The EMTs have not had to use The Forest, Fish, and Wildlife Appendicis campsites at Clark's Ferry and approximately their skills in the parks but they have been the for the River Project was approved in April 80 percent of the sites at Thomson Causeway first trained personnel to arrive at several high­ 1982 and the resource management program is now have electrical hookups. These are the first way accidents and assisted many injured in­ now in full swing. Over 4,000 trees and shrubs electric sites on the river project and it is hoped dividuals. were planted on Corps land along the Missis­ this will increase weekday visitation. Addition­ The interpretation program along the river sippi in 1983. There were two timber sales ally, all the roads in Thomson Causeway were has grown from 103 programs and 2,200 par­ totaling 597,380 board feet in 1983. The sale chip and sealed to reduce dust. The parking lot ticipants in 1980 to almost 900 presentations on Ward Island resulted in two 10-acre clear­ at Cattail Slough was enlarged and improved to and 25,000 participants in 1983. Interpretation cuts, and the one on Huron Island will end accommodate larger numbers of visitors with provides environmental education, improves with 11 clearcuts totaling 72 acres and one boat trailers. Since the area wa~ partially closed public relations for the District, improves par­ permanent seven-acre wildlife food plot. Sales liLSt year for economic reasons and the slough ticipant's recreational skills, informs the public at Lake Odessa, Spring Lake, and Green Island was dredged, the area has become a fishing hot about safety hazards and how to avoid them, for 136,000 board feet are pending. To date, spot. and provides recreational activities. The pro­ the five-year plan to stand map the 52,000 Most of the winter months the maintenance grams are presented in many locations, but dur­ acres of forested lands along the river in the crew spent moving sections of the District staff ing the recreational season most are centered District is 18 percent completed with comple­ from "old" quarters to "new", as the Clock around the public use areas and the locks and tion expected by 1987.

UMR Visitor Center gains identity in 83 by Sue Clevenstine Eagles and eagle watchers were very popular nior Rangers, puzzles, how-to-section, and na­ The Arsenal Visitor Center? That building around the lock this past year. The Eagle Cara­ ture stories. by the locks? The place to watch towboats? yan, cosponsored by the Quad Cities Audubon The center staff has been pleased with the Hopefully this past year has put an end to the Society and the Corps of Engineers was pre­ visitation to the center and the interest shown identity crisis at the Mississippi River Visitor sented in mid-January. The annual Junior by the many groups who have participated in Center. With 53,000 visitors to the center in Ranger Eagle Watch was also held in January programs throughout the year, and are looking 1983 it is expected that most people have a with over 150 kids participating. Plans were forward to more in 84. good idea who and where it is. The center staff made at that time to hold a public eagle watch also reached 19,000 people in their interpretive in 1984. programs which included river history, pro­ Members of the Visitors Center staff partici­ grams, slide shows, environmental education, patec! in a new and innovative program called safe boating display, puppet show and tours. Share an Interpreter. Rangers from the Rock The center attracted many visitors from for­ Island District projects exchanged places for a eign countries this past year. Tour groups from weekend to become familiar with new tech­ the Republic of China, Japan, Germany and a niques and programs being utilized in a re­ number of other European countries found the source management and interpretation. lock and dam system fascinating. The continuation of the Junior Ranger News­ One of the highlights during the year was letter has been a very successful interpretive participating in "The Year of the River" regatta tool. Newsletters are sent out quarterly to stu­ held at Lindsay Boat Club. The staff presented dents that have participated in the five-week a series of puppet shows during the afternoon ranger series. Included in the newsletter is "Oh-oh! Ice is forming on the wings!" festivities. environmental news, special events for the Ju-

Tower Times, January 1984, Page 8------Coralville Lake 1983 report Lake Red Rock in 1983 Nearly two million visitors enjoyed the wide lent public interest were the Hunter Safety Visitation at Lake Red Rock during 1983 variety of services Coralville Lake had to offer Clinic and Snowmobile Safety Clinic. This was exceeded 655,100, or an 8 percent increase in 1983. Many of these people were sightseers also the first year that some pre-school groups over last year's visitation of 604,231. High that came out to look at the high water Coral­ requested our programs. water, which inundated boat ramps and closed ville experienced for the second consecutive The Coralville Lake ATV (all terrain vehi­ beaches during most of the recreation season, year. The July and August floodwaters caused cle) Area was a topic of controversy resulting apparently had less of a negative impact on vis­ the temporary closure of all beaches, lakeside in a November 23rd public meeting. The area itation at Corps managed areas this year than ' picnic areas, and some Sugar Bottom and West is being reduced to 185 acres from 300 acres. last year, even though the extent and duration Overlook campsites. Increased patrol efforts hope to better control of high lake levels were greater this year. This One of the worst droughts of the past decade the area and protect the interests of nearby data suggests increased usage of recreational followed the drenching rains of early July. As a residents. areas outside of beach areas and, therefore, result, the mowing crew was able to divert Local military units continued to utilize reflects a positive visitation trend for Red Rock. some of their energies towards such activities· as Coralville Lake in 1983. This included the The Iowa Conservation Commission Wildlife the insta,llation of horseshoe pits. The extreme 294th Medical Detachment lANG, 109th Med­ Unit's visitation was 100,120, down 13 percent heat of this drought period reduced camp­ ical Battalion, and 234th Signal Battalion. from last year, while Elk Rock State Park· ground use somewhat even though most Coral­ Natural resource management highlights of experienced a 2 percent decline in visitation to ville campgrounds have electrical hookups the year include the sighting of Wild Turkeys 82,110. Roberts Creek County Park had a vis­ now. in the Highway 218 area. We plan to work itation of 64,920, down 14 percent from 1982. Recreation area rehabilitation continued to with the Iowa Conservation Commission in the The decline in visitation at state and county be a major activity at Coralville Lake. Turkey management of this bird. Coralville Lake prai­ areas is directly attributable to problems asso­ Creek Picnic Area's 18 hole frisbee golf course rie management and restoration is more active ciated with high water. was converted to a nine hole course of greater than ever before. This landscape oflowa's past High water wrought havoc on project facili­ challenge and quality. Any sunny day will find is becoming a matter of great interest to an ties. An eroding shoreline undermined the the course bombarded with contestants battling increasingly environmentally aware American Whitebreast Point shelter, necessitating its relo­ par. The area also gained a new picnic shelter, public. cation to a safer site. Project personnel operated flush toilet facility, and asphalted roads. Small pumping stations at A von Lake near Des one family picnic shelters were installed in our Moines for several weeks during May, June flood prone picnic areas. These shelters allow a and July. Once high lake levels receded, repairs small group to enjoy shade in areas where trees were made to beach buildings, road shoulders, do not fare well. The rehabilitation of the West Rl D Explorer Post and boat ramp parking lots. Overlook beach parking lot was completed in 1983 activities Several new construction projects were un­ 1983. This considerably reduced the parking lot dertaken during 1983. A prefabricated comfort by Leon Hodges & Janet Hodges congestion that in the past would tie up a station was installed at North Overlook Picnic majority of ranger staff members on a busy The RID Explorer Post had a very active Area, replacing existing pit-vault toilet facilities. day. Paving of recreation area roads is nearly first year. The emphasis for 1983 was the man­ Construction of a new shower building in Ivans complete eliminating the bothersome dust prob­ agement of our natural resources by different Campground was begun with the scheduled lems of the past. Tailwater West rehabilitation agencies and parks. The Post made several day completion date set for next July. Two new began this fall with the transplanting of 25 trees trips to nearby park areas and camped over­ entrance stations were built at Whitebreast and into the area and the construction of a road and night at Maquoketa Caves. Wallashuck campgrounds. The iron bridge designated campsites. With the recently begun The Explorers got some hands on experience below Red Rock Dam was renovated for hik­ addition of a modern restroom facility, Tail coping with the major management problem of ers and bikers by installing new anti-vehicle West will be a recreation area the public can be litter. The post aided the Mississippi River Pro­ barricades, chainlink fencing, and flooring; the proud of. ject with their pre-season cleanup at Andalusia old iron bridge has become an integral part of 1983 was the pilot year for "Ma and Pa" Recreation Area. the ever popular tailwaters bicycle trail system. live-in custodial contracts in the three major The cleanup activity helped to make the Other construction projects this year included recreation areas at Coralville Lake. These con­ Explorers aware of the major contribution the asphalting of the maintenance yard, the tractors did a personal touch, quality job sel­ cigarette butts make to the problem of litter. resurfacing of various parking lots and park dom found in contract work as well as provid­ The members made the cigarette problem the roads, the construction of a new interpretive ing a cost savings to the Corps. subject of a puppet show, written and produced amphitheater in Howell Station campground, A 1,744 foot hiking trail in the Sugar Bot­ by the Post members. The puppet show was the completion of the maintenance building tom area was started and nearly completed in presented at Northpark Mall to help the City of addition, and the construction of a carport to 1983. The trail features the natural limestone Davenport kick off their clean sweep project. protect project vehicles from inclement weather. bluffs and a cave to provide a pleasant hiking The first nighter for 1984 was held in Red Rock's forest management program experience. This trail, along with the Wood­ October and the Post gained 24 new members. continued unabated through 1983. Reforesta­ pecker Nature Trail, gives Coralville Lake two The group has decided to focus 1984 on the tion contracts added 60,000 seedlings to exist­ quality hiking trails. field of wildlife management. Their first project ing tree plantations around the lake. Sixty Approximately 10,000 park visitors were will be constructing and mounting woodduck shade trees were added to park areas under a interviewed in 1983. This data will enable us to boxes here at Lock and Dam 15. separate landscaping contract. Approximately know our visitors and manage the areas more If anyone has any project ideas or would like 49 acres of land containing dense stands of efficiently. to become more actively involved with Post, honeylocust and elm were hydro-axed in prep­ Coralville Lake interpretive programs reached contact Janet Hodges, Mississippi River Visitor aration for planting more desirable, long-lived 12,457 people this past year with a variety of Center, or Leon Hodges, Lock and Dam 16 programs. Two new programs that had excel- Ranger Office. Red Rock (Cont. page 10) ·

------TowerTimes,Janua~1984,Page9 Saylorville ~ake year-end review In 1983, Saylorville Lake experienced a slight and moving winter camping to a smaller, more Mike Coltrain got resource management into decrease in project visitation, to 3,003,305, efficient campground will reduce project energy full gear in early spring. An additional 3,4-mile down from 3,112,014 in 1982. The major conservation significantly by the time statistics section of bike trail was completed, taking the cause of this decline was the closure of several are calculated in late 1984. trail into Cherry Glen Campground. The total recreation areas due to high water levels during Recreation rehabilitation and refurbishment length of the trail is now six miles. Work on a the summer season. included the planting of 8,250 lbs. of turfgrass mile segment from Cherry Glen Picnic Area to One of the most time-consuming activities seed to stabilize new recreation areas, prevent Oak Grove Recreation Area was also started. this year was the collection of new visitor use erosion, provide playing surfaces, and generally A two-man trail crew spent the summer remov­ data. To collect this data, recreation use surveys beautify the park. Leveling and stumping newly ing honey locust trees and trimming limbs were conducted during the winter, spring, cleared areas provided more useable space for encroaching upon the bike trail. summer and fall months. All recreation areas recreators. A comprehensive turfgrass manage­ The water storage contract with the State of were surveyed at least once, with most high use ment program was started in spring of 1983. Iowa and the three-foot raise in permanent areas surveyed twice. The impetus behind this Full attention was paid to maintaining quality pool elevation required the relocation of a mile effort was the changeover in the method of turf by using the latest scientific methods of fer­ segment of the snowmobile trail. Both the ski reporting visitation. Visitation will be reported tilizer and weed control applications. This will and snowmobile trails were cleared, marked, in visitor hours in 1984, as well as in recrea­ result in a substantial cost reduction as less new and ready for winter use. tional days of use. Eventually, we will change seed will be needed. In addition, Danielle All of the lake's trails took quite a beating over to only reporting visitor hours, which will Wirth also helped custom design and super­ this past year due to high water. But thanks to more accurately reflect project visitation. The vised installation of playground equipment in over 400 hours of volunteer work, donated by surveys will also assist project staff in calculat­ Prairie Flower Campground and Cottonwood the Iowa Sierra Club, Boy Scout Troops and ing and reporting more accurate visitation Recreation Area. Setting railroad ties and Eagle Project, most of the trails are back in figures. gravel surfacing camp pads were finished in good shape. Clearing trees and high water The realignment of project ranger duties has Cherry Glen Campground. Fisherman's Camp­ debris, construction of steps and bridges, rerout­ modified the direction of ranger's involvement ground West was completely redone with rail­ ing and placing lime chips on the nature trails, in areas where they were required to become road ties, and gravel and landscaping started. were all facets of trail volunteerism. familiar with a sometimes totally new field of This area will be operated as a fee area in Another 175 man-hours were provided by a responsibility. Therefore, the first few months 1984. volunteer program through the Ankeny schools of 1983 were spent in tutoring and learning. Saylorville held its 2nd annual Art Show in and the Community Education Program. In Real estate assignments, now headed by April. Beth Peterson coordinated the popular this program a group of 24 junior and senior R.D. Crone, resolved 59 encroachments this nine-day event and 2,841 people visited the high school students were provided a hands-on year. 205 acres of contract mowing were exhibits. A black and white low-cost road map opportunity to perform environmentally benefi­ supervised and 90 public firewood permits was a real boost for new visitors. Acorn Valley cial projects such as prairie seed planting, plant­ were administered and issued. Major safety Campground was completely signed and maps ing landscape trees and constructing artificial hazards were identified and evaluated with sub­ were made for Acorn Valley and Cherry Glen fish habitat for Cottonwood Pond. This pro­ sequent repositioning of cable and beam guard Campgrounds. The massive job of repairing, gram won third place in the "Iowa Youth rails on the dam and construction of recreation replacing and installing traffic counters was Volunteer Day Contest," sponsored by the area entries with anti-swing gate bolts. Creating begun in the summer and will be completed in Governor's Youth Council. more energy efficient project management 1984. This will provide an extremely accurate through retrofitting appropriate facilities, im­ measure of project use and visitation. plementing employee conservation practices, Saylorville (Cont. page 12)

Maintenance (Cont.) tree species. Elementary school children planted maintained at six locations totalling 12.4 acres. dredging record keeping and needed reports 25 saplings in the Children's Forest. The Child­ Surveys conducted in December indicated that and communications to and from higher ren's Forest idea has become an excellent edu­ the plots were being used extensively by song­ authority. Dick will continue his role of provid­ cational tool for instilling an environmental birds, pheasants, and deer. Switchgrass, an ing dredging and navigation expertise to other ethic among the young. important thermal and nesting cover species for District elements, as needed, for various plan­ The woodcutting system continued to oper­ myriad small animals, was planted on 22 acres ning and engineering projects. ate successfully with more than 250 driftwood of land. Agricultural leases continued to be a Dan Hare, formerly of Hydraulics, will be permits being issued this year. The issuance of useful adjunct to the wildlife management Chief of the new Project Maintenance Section, these permits has proven to be a cost effective program. OD-MR. Dan's expertise in Hydraulic Engi­ means of removing water deposited debris from More than 16,000 people participated in 365 neering will be a welcome asset to the Mainte­ park areas. Standing timber sales were again interpretive programs. Highlighting this year's nance Branch. As Chief of Project Maintenance popular with woodcutters throughout the au­ activities were the Labor Day festivities and Section, Dan will be managing all facets of tumn months. Using this type of permit, timber various special programs such as cross-country wing dam repair, operations, certain river exca­ stand improvement can be accomplished with ski clinics and eagle watches, etc. Guest speak­ vation work, and a navigation project. The little cost to the government. ers like naturalist Sylvan Runkel and State entire unit formerly known as the Channel The wildlife management program included Ecologist Dean Roosa added diversity to our Maintenance Field Unit will be under Dan's planting 6,300 trees and shrubs on three sites programming. supervision. containing a total of 8.3 acres. Food plots were

TowerTimes,January1984, Page 10------What's up SSP: Martha LePera ...... Geotech Branch Charles Smith ...... Environ Analy Br Ben Kitsis ...... Program Analy, OD Fredric Schwada ...... Plan Form Branch Paul Coe ...... Duplication Sect Walter Jones ...... Struct'Maint Unit Richard C. Gustafson ...... Duplication Sect Charles Johnson ...... Plant Section Robert Reesink .\...... Ch, Procure & Supply Div Albert Elliott ...... Plant Section Pearl O'Dell ...... Est-Specns Section J. Paul VanHoorebeke ...... Rpts & Svcs Branch Bernard 'Smith ...... : ...... Marseilles L/D Nancy Berg ...... Contracts Branch Keith Fulton ...... Coralville Lake Patricia Andrews ...... Personnel Officer Mary E. Strassburger, the new Chief of the Office of Administrative Services. Exceptional Performance: David Armentrout ...... Struct Maint Sect Walter Jones ...... Struct Maint Sect Strassburger named Robert Reesink ...... Ch, Procure & Supply Div OAS Chief J. Paul VanHoorebeke ...... Rpts & Svcs Branch Roberta Olds ...... Ch, Training & Devlp Br Mary E. Strassburger, the Acting Chief of Ben Kitsis ...... Program Analy, OD the Office of Administrative Service since April Nancy Berg ...... Contracts Branch of 1983, is the new Chief of OAS, effective Suzanne Simmons ...... Engineering Division since December 1983. Special Act Award: Mary began her career with the Rock Island George Kensinger ...... Channel Maint Section District in April of 197 4 as a clerk-typist in the Stanley Buckholtz ...... Channel Maint Section then Environmental Resources Section in En­ Frank Current ...... Channel Maint Section gineering Division. In August that year she Jay Williams ...... Channel Maint Section transferred to a similar position in the General Donald Rudd ...... Struct Maint Unit Services Branch of the Office of Administrative Craig Wisniewski ...... Channel Maint Section Services. She stayed in OAS until October of Ben Bagwell ...... Struct Maint Unit 1977 when she moved to the Office of the Charles Mayfield ...... Struct Maint Unit Comptroller as a voucher examiner. James Piper ...... Channel Maint Section In August, 1978, Mary returned to OAS as Steven Saylor ...... Channel Maint Section the travel clerk in General Services Branch. George Bean ...... Channel Maint Section Then in October she was promoted to Chief of Jeffrey Staub ...... Coralville Lake the General Services Branch, and served in that capacity until June of 1980 when she became the Chief of the Office Management Branch. Suggestion Award: As Chief, Mary is responsible for the opera­ To Lois Pritchard, Office of the Comptroller, for her adopted suggestion on filing of documents tions of the District's mail room, photography supporting Corps disbursements. The new system provides a fail-safe audit trail and quadrupled the laboratory, duplication section, library, general number of documents that can be successfully retrieved 30-360 days after filing. The system also services, office management, and the ware­ increased protection against duplicate payments and the payee/payer relationship has improved house. dramatically as a result of the District's ability to certify and document prior payments with Mary has received a Special Act Award in absolute accuracy. First year savings are estimated at $10,000. 1974, and Sustained Superior Performance To Mary Bartemeyer, Disbursing Section, Office of the Comptroller, for her adopted suggestion Awards in 1980, 1981, and 1983. She has been recommending a computerized system be used for disbursing activities where all data is enterP.d actively involved with District activities, having once, and then any information can be pulled, as needed, to prepare documents. Computerizing served on the Federal Women's Program Advi­ the disbursing activities will eliminate many errors, thus showing a tremendous increase in morale. sory Council, and the Incentive A wards Com­ The first year savings of this suggestion is estimated at $7,800. mittee. She has also been the Vice President Condolences: and immediate Past President of the Civilian Welfare Association. Mary also was the recip­ To the family of William Burrus, who recently passed away. Mr. Burrus was an Engineer Equipment Mechanic at the Illinois Waterways Project Office (then Peoria Project Office), and ient of the District's and the North Central Divi­ retired in June 1972 after 35 years of Federal service. sion's A ward for Outstanding Achievement in 1981, as well as the District EEO Award, too. Farewells: The daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Lester Stanger, Go out to Russell Maple, Assistant Lockmaster at Lock and Dam 22 on the Upper Mississippi Davenport, Iowa, Mary has over 10 years of River, who retired in November 1983, after more than 301,2 years of Federal service. Best wishes Federal service. Mary also resides in the city of for a long, happy and healthy retirement, Russell. Davenport with her two children.

------TowerTimes,January1984, Page11 Saylorville (Cont.) Eagle Scout, Eric Steward, and a crew of help spent over 600 hours constructing a com­ plete reptile habitat unit for the Visitor Center. Also, Saylorville Lake's Explorer Post was active with construction and placement of blue­ bird houses and tree planting projects. A total of 9,550 seedlings were planted in reforestation and wildlife hedge rows, and 950 larger trees were planted for landscaping in Prairie Flower and River Valley Campgrounds, and Walnut Ridge Picnic Area. Jeff Logsdon was Saylorville's new interpre­ tive coordinator. 363 programs were offered to date in 1983. 12,170 people participated in the programs and 38,790 people visited the Center, a record for District Visitor Centers. Scott Rolfes made many advances in Saylor­ ville's Wildlife Management programs. More bluebird houses were added to the existing trail bringing the total to 7 4 houses, and 11 wood duck nesting boxes were placed in suitable hab­ itat. Fishery management began with the re­ stocking of Arrowhead Pond near Cherry Glen Campground. Inkwater Pond, located in Acorn Valley Campground is heavily fished. The In 1983 new cranes were installed at 11 of the Dis­ Louis, Missouri, did all the work involved with this intense pressure warrants annual restocking of trict"s UMR dams. The new diesel-powered cranes project at a total cost of $2.1 million. and booms were installed on rebuilt carriages on the Pictured, a crane from the Alberici Company has brood bluegill and six-inch largemouth bass in service bridges of Dams 11 through 18, and 20 just placed a rebuilt carriage on top the service an effort to maintain a balanced fishery. Pond through 22. The J.S. Alberici Construction Co., of St. bridge at Dam 15, located here in the Quad Cities. enhancement involved hand planting aquatic plants in various ponds and wet areas. Plants selected were those that control erosion, im­ DE Award winners for 1983 prove water clarity, and dissolve oxygen con­ tent, provide cover for wildlife, improve fish The District Engineer's Employee of the Month Award has been in existence since 1979, and its hatch survival, food sources for migrating wild­ purpose is to acknowledge District employee/s who perform a noteworthy achievement during a life and habitat for furbearing populations asso­ single, or over several months. ciated with such plant communities. The following is a list of the 1983 DE Award winners (through November) for 1983. There were 11 food plots, ranging in size January David Armentrout OD-M 1 from A to 3 acres, established this spring. Goals February Clarence "Bud" Hodson OD-M were winter food for wildlife and seed produc­ March Nancy Schnoor DC-F tion. A 20-acre tract of farmland was converted April Penny Cummins AS-L to a conifer/prairie habitat. The perimeter of May Suzanne Simmons ED the tract includes several species of evergreens June Kevin Kuppler OD-RM and the interior contains prairie. In addition to July Bryan Goodrum ED-H enhancing wildlife habitat, this area is highly August Betty Montag PA visible to the 14ublic and will allow people to Michael Kelly walk through the graded height prairie and en­ September Rodney Kuehl Illinois Waterway joy the wildlife attracted to the conifer trees. Jeff Punkiewicz Project Office Jerry Tucker October Jim Reinsager CD-A November Frederick Ciaccio ED

The Tower Times is an unofficial publication authorized under the District Engineer ...... Col. Bernard P. Slofer provisions of AR 360-81, published monthly by offset press for the Chief, Public Affairs Officer ...... RichardS. Gustafson employees of the Rock Island District. Views and opinions expressed in Editor ...... Raymond A. Gall this publication are not necessarily those of the Department of the Graphics and Design ...... Loren Carey Army. Address mail to: Rock Island Distric~ US Army Corps of Engi- Photos ...... Bob Carstens US Army Corps neers. Attn: PAO, Clock Tower Building, Rock Island, Illinois 61201. Phone (309) 788-6361 ext. 6204. Circulation: 1200. * US Government Printing Office: 1983 • 754-062/9 of Engineers Rock Island District

Tower Times, January 1984, Page 12