About Us
Brochures Contact Us District Map District Operations Plan News and Information Offices Staff Bios Visiting Us Working for Us 2001 Flood

Rock Island District

Who We Are

Overview

The Rock Island District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers federal water resource programs in a 78,000 square-mile area encompassing the eastern two-thirds of Iowa, the northern      half of Illinois and portions of southern Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the northeast corner of Missouri. This area includes 314 miles of the Mississippi River, 269 miles of the Illinois Waterway and their tributaries, and 197,000 acres of federal land.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Rock Island District is to partner with stakeholders in the management of the watersheds of the District in order to meet the national and regional needs of navigation, flood damage reduction, emergency management, ecosystem restoration and regulation, recreation, water supply, land management, and national security.

Mission

The Rock Island District is a values-based public service engineering organization supporting our region and the nation by providing technical services, infrastructure management, and water resource solutions.

Our missions include:

• Navigation
• Flood Risk Management
• Regulatory
• Environmental Protection and Restoration
• Emergency Management
• Recreation
• Water Supply
• Hydropower
• Support for Others
• Military Programs

Organization

The Rock Island District office headquarters is located in Rock Island, Ill. There are approximately 350 employees who work at the District headquarters and approximately 550 employees who work in the field operating and maintaining the navigation system, flood control reservoirs and recreation sites.

The Rock Island District is one of six Corps’ districts that make up the Mississippi Valley Division which is headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Our Team

The Rock Island District is a multidisciplinary team of almost 900 civilian employees led by a military district commander and deputy district commander. The world class professionals of the District provide the planning, engineering, design, and construction support for the District’s mission areas. The high quality and talented work force includes engineers, biologists, geologists, geographers, archeologists, attorneys, real estate specialists, economists, contract specialists, accounting, security and communication professionals, and more. We are one disciplined team – in thought, word, and action – meeting our commitments, with and through our partners, by “Saying what we will do, and doing what we say.”

One Team

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approximately 34,000 dedicated civilians and Soldiers delivering engineering services to customers in more than 90 countries worldwide.

With environmental sustainability as a guiding principle, our disciplined Corps team is working diligently to strengthen our Nation’s security by building and maintaining America’s infrastructure and providing military facilities where our service members train, work and live. We are also researching and developing technology for our war fighters while protecting America’s interests abroad by using our engineering expertise to promote stability and improve quality of life.

We are energizing the economy by dredging America’s waterways to support the movement of critical commodities and providing recreation opportunities at our campgrounds, lakes and marinas.

And by devising hurricane and storm damage reduction infrastructure, we are reducing risks from disasters.

Our men and women are protecting and restoring the Nation’s environment including critical efforts in the Everglades, the Louisiana coast, and along many of our Nation’s major waterways.  The Corps is also cleaning sites contaminated with hazardous, toxic or radioactive waste and material in an effort to sustain the environment.

Through deeds, not words, we are... BUILDING STRONG®   

USACE Goals – BUILDING STRONG®   

Goal 1: Deliver USACE Support to combat, stability, and disaster operations through forward deployed and reachback capabilities.

Goal 2: Deliver enduring and essential water resource solutions through collaboration with partners and stakeholders.

Goal 3: Deliver innovative, resilient, sustainable solutions to the Armed Forces and the Nation.

Goal 4: Build and cultivate a competent, disciplined, and resilient team equipped to deliver high quality solutions.

The Rock Island District has been serving this vital region of the Midwest and the Mississippi Valley Division for more than 140 years. The Quad Cities has been our home since 1892. We are a long-term partner with our stakeholders, communities, and customers of five states committed to serving five major river basins.

The Rock Island District is a leader in integrated water resources management serving five river basins in five states at the heart of the Upper Mississippi River basin.