Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) – Fish Passage - Lock and Dam 22

Location:

Upper Mississippi River, River Mile (RM) 301.2 near Saverton, Missouri, between Ralls County, Missouri, and Pike County, Illinois

Description:

The Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) area comprises the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS), as defined by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (WRDA 1986), which includes the Upper Mississippi River from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois; the Illinois Waterway from Chicago to Grafton, Illinois; and navigable portions of the Minnesota, St. Croix, Black, and Kaskaskia Rivers. This multi-use resource supports an extensive navigation system (made up of 1200 miles of 9-foot channel and 37 lock and dam sites), a diverse ecosystem (2.7 million acres of habitat supporting hundreds of fish and wildlife species), floodplain agriculture, recreation, and tourism. Based on the recommendation of the UMR-IWW System Navigation Feasibility Study that examined system needs over the next 50 years, NESP was implemented to achieve the dual purposes of UMRS ecosystem restoration and navigation improvements. Fish passage at Lock and Dam 22 is an ecosystem restoration project and the first fish passage.

Lock and Dam 22 is one of five fish passage locations on the Mississippi River authorized by the program and the first to be funded for construction. Lock 22 fish passage received $97.1M from the FY22 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to fund design and initiate construction of the project, and $25.5M to complete construction from FY24 Regular Appropriation Earmark funding. This combined funding is sufficient to complete project construction. The project scope includes construction of a 200’-wide rock ramp fishway, an ice/debris barrier, bridge, and stoplogs. The project area is located in Congressional District 9 in Missouri and District 17 in Illinois.

The objective of this project is to restore longitudinal connectivity for a wide range of migratory warmwater fish species through the construction of a fish passage structure. This project will increase access to upstream habitats and improve the size and distribution of native migratory fish populations. Future design considerations learned through monitoring and evaluation at the Lock and Dam 22 fish passage, will be applied to future fish passage projects. The three components of monitoring and evaluation are 1) to gain information needed for project planning and design (pre-project monitoring), 2) project performance monitoring and 3) to apply lessons learned to subsequent fish passage projects (adaptive management).

Congressional Support:

The Lock and Dam 22 fish passage project received: $97.1M through the FY22 BIL for project design and initiation of construction and $25.5M through FY24 Regular Appropriations Earmark to complete project construction.  

Key Takeaways:

• The project has remained on schedule since receipt of the FY22 BIL funding, now in active solicitation. The construction contract will be awarded by 30 September 2024.
• Construction is expected to be complete in FY27.
• Pre-project fish monitoring activities continue with USGS, USFWS, and the respective state DNRs. These monitoring activities will inform the design to ensure it is most effective for passing fish.

Additional Information:

Authority:

CG – Construction - Title VIII of Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2007, P.L. 110-114 and WRDA 2022, P.L. 117-263.

Summarized Project Costs:

Major Work Item Current Year

FY2024:

• Design completion
• Construction contract award

Major Work Item Next Fiscal Year

FY2025:

• Begin on-site project construction.
• Continue fish monitoring activities during construction with USGS, USFWS, and USACE