Dredge Goetz, MV Gen. Warren, Quarters Boat Taggatz and the rest of USACE’s dredging fleet returned to the St. Paul District after spending four months working on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
During their brief tenure downriver, the crew removed approximately 500,000 cubic yards of material from the navigation channel. This work ensures the continued passage of commerce up and down the waterways.
Sedimentation in the channels is caused by the normal cycle of silt movement, erosion from high water or heavy rains and changes in river currents.
To maintain the waterways, this material must be removed.
Also, the dredged material is used for upland habitat development, wetland creation, aquatic habitat enhancement, beach nourishment. This material could also be used for winter road maintenance, levee repair and general-purpose fill.
Right now, they can be seen immediately upstream of Lansing, Iowa.