1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,583 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:11,800 - [Narrator] The history of the U.S. Army 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:13,830 Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District 4 00:00:13,830 --> 00:00:17,100 is one that can be traced back to 1837, 5 00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:19,000 when a Lieutenant Robert E. Lee 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,200 surveyed a portion of the Mississippi river. 7 00:00:22,730 --> 00:00:24,900 That Lieutenant Lee, the same, 8 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:27,730 who would later famously become a Confederate General 9 00:00:27,730 --> 00:00:30,460 and Commander of the American Confederate States Army 10 00:00:30,460 --> 00:00:32,710 during the American Civil War 11 00:00:32,710 --> 00:00:35,820 surveyed the Des Moines Rapids above Keokuk, Iowa, 12 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:37,140 and the Rock Island Rapids 13 00:00:37,140 --> 00:00:39,963 which ran from LeClaire Iowa to Rock Island, Illinois. 14 00:00:41,140 --> 00:00:43,730 These two areas with the most serious obstacles 15 00:00:43,730 --> 00:00:45,340 on the Mississippi river 16 00:00:45,340 --> 00:00:47,050 and virtually halted steamboat traffic 17 00:00:47,050 --> 00:00:48,473 during low river stages. 18 00:00:49,750 --> 00:00:52,960 Lieutenant Lee proposed improvements on these two stretches 19 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,400 by excavating rock to deepen the channel 20 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,803 and work was authorized in 1852. 21 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:03,070 In 1866, after the civil war ended, 22 00:01:03,070 --> 00:01:04,320 Congress authorized the Corps 23 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:06,160 to plan and construct a lateral canal 24 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,130 known as the Des Moines Rapids Canal 25 00:01:08,130 --> 00:01:11,800 along the Iowa side of the river to bypass the rapids. 26 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,420 The new canal was 7.6 miles long, 27 00:01:14,420 --> 00:01:17,620 five feet deep at low water and had three locks. 28 00:01:17,620 --> 00:01:19,540 The canal cost more than $4 million 29 00:01:19,540 --> 00:01:22,280 and marked the official birth of the Rock Island District. 30 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:24,430 On August 3rd, 1866 31 00:01:24,430 --> 00:01:27,350 under the guidance of Lieutenant Colonel GH Wilson, 32 00:01:27,350 --> 00:01:30,460 the Rock Island District office opened in Keokuk, Iowa, 33 00:01:30,460 --> 00:01:33,090 to supervise construction of the Des Moines Rapids Canal, 34 00:01:33,090 --> 00:01:35,863 which eventually opened to traffic in 1877. 35 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,590 In 1869, the Rock Island District office 36 00:01:40,590 --> 00:01:42,420 was moved to Davenport, Iowa 37 00:01:42,420 --> 00:01:45,720 to oversee work on removing the Rock Island rapids. 38 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,750 In 1870, the Rock Island District headquarters 39 00:01:48,750 --> 00:01:49,660 was moved once again 40 00:01:49,660 --> 00:01:51,773 from Davenport to Rock Island, Illinois. 41 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,100 As the district then stretched from St. Paul, Minnesota 42 00:01:55,100 --> 00:01:56,710 to St. Louis Missouri, 43 00:01:56,710 --> 00:01:59,713 Rock Island was considered the ideal geographic location. 44 00:02:00,550 --> 00:02:04,010 From the late 1870s to the early 1900s, 45 00:02:04,010 --> 00:02:06,510 Congress authorized several comprehensive projects 46 00:02:06,510 --> 00:02:09,460 on the Mississippi river to accommodate commercial traffic. 47 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,260 The first project created a four and a half foot channel 48 00:02:13,260 --> 00:02:16,550 by using a variety of techniques, including dredging, 49 00:02:16,550 --> 00:02:20,450 constructing rock and brush wing dams along the shore, 50 00:02:20,450 --> 00:02:22,040 and building closing dams, 51 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,820 which closed off slews and secondary channels 52 00:02:24,820 --> 00:02:26,720 to divert more water into the channel. 53 00:02:27,590 --> 00:02:31,990 In 1907, a six foot channel was authorized by Congress 54 00:02:31,990 --> 00:02:34,323 as commercial vessels were increasing in size. 55 00:02:36,260 --> 00:02:39,470 By 1925, despite improvements to the river 56 00:02:39,470 --> 00:02:41,023 commercial navigation declined, 57 00:02:41,950 --> 00:02:43,280 vessels larger than pleasure boats 58 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:44,903 had become almost a curiosity. 59 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:47,580 Other modes of transportation, 60 00:02:47,580 --> 00:02:50,210 such as the railroad were taking over. 61 00:02:50,210 --> 00:02:53,500 But new advancements in engineering knowledge and techniques 62 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:56,670 brought about the rebirth of water transportation. 63 00:02:56,670 --> 00:02:58,610 New ideas on lock and dam construction 64 00:02:58,610 --> 00:03:00,900 were being tested and proven. 65 00:03:00,900 --> 00:03:02,040 Another important aspect 66 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,710 was the development of diesel powered river vessels 67 00:03:04,710 --> 00:03:07,210 that greatly increased power and efficiency, 68 00:03:07,210 --> 00:03:09,170 capable of pushing a dozen or more 69 00:03:09,170 --> 00:03:10,733 heavily laden steel bargains. 70 00:03:12,670 --> 00:03:15,670 In 1930, convinced that the economy of the Midwest 71 00:03:15,670 --> 00:03:17,210 would improve by a deeper channel 72 00:03:17,210 --> 00:03:19,800 that would accommodate these larger tows. 73 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,843 Congress authorized the nine foot navigation channel 74 00:03:22,843 --> 00:03:24,790 from the mouth of the Missouri river 75 00:03:24,790 --> 00:03:26,323 to Minneapolis, Minnesota. 76 00:03:28,290 --> 00:03:31,680 This was done by means of creating a staircase of sorts 77 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:33,590 using 28 lots and dams 78 00:03:33,590 --> 00:03:36,080 between the Missouri river and Minneapolis 79 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,930 with 12 of these locks built by the Rock Island District. 80 00:03:42,220 --> 00:03:46,550 In the 1930s and 1940s construction of the locks and dam 81 00:03:46,550 --> 00:03:49,590 engaged almost all of the district's efforts. 82 00:03:49,590 --> 00:03:52,180 The first of the series was locks and dam 15 83 00:03:52,180 --> 00:03:55,613 at Rock Island, Illinois, which was completed in 1932. 84 00:03:56,570 --> 00:03:58,560 The final piece came in 1940 85 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,943 with the completion of lock and dam 14 near LeClaire, Iowa. 86 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,100 In 1932 during the busy lock and dam construction period, 87 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:10,620 the historic clock tower building 88 00:04:10,620 --> 00:04:14,480 located on Rock Island Arsenal, adjacent to locks and dam 15 89 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:16,330 became the district's permanent home. 90 00:04:18,380 --> 00:04:19,910 Also during this time, 91 00:04:19,910 --> 00:04:23,120 the St. Louis and St. Paul Districts were established, 92 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,180 which reduced the boundaries of the Rock Island District 93 00:04:25,180 --> 00:04:28,030 to the portion between the Wisconsin and Illinois rivers. 94 00:04:29,330 --> 00:04:32,920 In 1936, the Rock Island District was further reduced 95 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,510 to its present day, North, South boundaries 96 00:04:35,510 --> 00:04:37,777 of Gutenberg Iowa in the North 97 00:04:37,777 --> 00:04:40,063 and Saverton Missouri in the South. 98 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,860 In 1936, Congress made flood control a federal concern 99 00:04:46,860 --> 00:04:48,230 and assigned the responsibility 100 00:04:48,230 --> 00:04:51,103 of carrying out its directives to the Corps of engineers. 101 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,710 Based on this new directive, the Rock Island District 102 00:04:54,710 --> 00:04:57,380 had 14 individual flood control projects 103 00:04:57,380 --> 00:05:00,030 that were included in the first round of legislation. 104 00:05:01,070 --> 00:05:05,730 From 1942 to 1945, at the outbreak of World War II, 105 00:05:05,730 --> 00:05:08,070 the Rock Island District shifted from civil works 106 00:05:08,070 --> 00:05:09,963 to military supply and procurement. 107 00:05:11,020 --> 00:05:14,350 It also designed and constructed more than $80 million 108 00:05:14,350 --> 00:05:16,250 in military projects during this time. 109 00:05:18,350 --> 00:05:20,950 After World War II ended, the district returned 110 00:05:20,950 --> 00:05:22,890 to civil works planning and construction, 111 00:05:22,890 --> 00:05:25,390 and began to refocus on the flood control mission. 112 00:05:26,980 --> 00:05:28,670 That mission would result in the construction 113 00:05:28,670 --> 00:05:31,370 of five reservoirs, with the first project completed 114 00:05:31,370 --> 00:05:34,410 at Fon Du Lac Reservoir in 1949, 115 00:05:34,410 --> 00:05:37,033 followed by the Farmdale Reservoir in 1951. 116 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:39,550 Fon Du Lac and Farmdale 117 00:05:39,550 --> 00:05:41,630 are part of the Farm Creek Flood Control Project 118 00:05:41,630 --> 00:05:43,023 in East Peoria, Illinois. 119 00:05:44,050 --> 00:05:46,760 Behind each dam, the Corps of engineers owns the land 120 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:48,690 that is subject to flooding. 121 00:05:48,690 --> 00:05:51,640 These areas will normally be empty of standing water. 122 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,320 Farm Creek and Fon Du Lac Creek flow through a culvert 123 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:55,583 in the respect of dams. 124 00:05:56,420 --> 00:05:57,330 When the flow in the creek 125 00:05:57,330 --> 00:05:59,400 exceeds the capacity of the culvert 126 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,570 water starts to back up into the reservoir area. 127 00:06:02,570 --> 00:06:04,800 The stored water is then released at a slow rate 128 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:06,850 through the outlet culvert. 129 00:06:06,850 --> 00:06:08,910 One advantage of the dry reservoir concept 130 00:06:08,910 --> 00:06:10,830 is there are no moving parts. 131 00:06:10,830 --> 00:06:13,330 The water is held back and released automatically 132 00:06:13,330 --> 00:06:15,823 without the need to open or close gates. 133 00:06:16,910 --> 00:06:19,070 Continuing with the flood control mission, 134 00:06:19,070 --> 00:06:20,080 the Rock Island District 135 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,150 completed three more reservoir projects 136 00:06:22,150 --> 00:06:23,200 in the state of Iowa. 137 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:28,143 One at Coralville Lake in Iowa City in 1958. 138 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,423 Another at Lake Red Rock in Pella, Iowa in 1969. 139 00:06:34,420 --> 00:06:38,613 And finally Saylorville Lake in Johnston, Iowa in 1977. 140 00:06:40,870 --> 00:06:44,090 All three lake projects are multiple purpose projects 141 00:06:44,090 --> 00:06:46,720 providing primary benefits and flood control 142 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,860 and low flow augmentation 143 00:06:48,860 --> 00:06:51,530 with secondary benefits in recreation, 144 00:06:51,530 --> 00:06:54,773 natural resource management and environmental stewardship. 145 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,940 Since being built the three links combined 146 00:06:58,940 --> 00:07:00,910 have prevented cumulative flooding damages 147 00:07:00,910 --> 00:07:04,363 of over $2.5 billion in the downstream areas. 148 00:07:06,450 --> 00:07:09,310 In 1980, as a result of a core wide 149 00:07:09,310 --> 00:07:11,360 district realignment study, 150 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,800 all river related responsibilities of the Chicago District 151 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,173 were transferred to the Rock Island District. 152 00:07:18,020 --> 00:07:19,683 This change brought six rivers, 153 00:07:20,540 --> 00:07:25,540 the Illinois, Chicago, Fox, Des Plaines, Kankakee, 154 00:07:26,450 --> 00:07:29,660 and Sangamon as well as eight lots and dams 155 00:07:29,660 --> 00:07:32,423 on the Illinois waterway to the Rock Island District. 156 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:36,460 Years later in 2020, 157 00:07:36,460 --> 00:07:38,750 another realignment will transfer operations 158 00:07:38,750 --> 00:07:42,210 of the TG O'Brien and Lockport Locks and Dams 159 00:07:42,210 --> 00:07:43,660 back to the Chicago District. 160 00:07:44,570 --> 00:07:46,960 River navigation is an integral facet 161 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:48,483 to commercial transportation. 162 00:07:49,420 --> 00:07:50,540 The Rock Island District 163 00:07:50,540 --> 00:07:53,580 has been proud to help facilitate the navigation, 164 00:07:53,580 --> 00:07:55,193 which drives the global economy. 165 00:07:56,140 --> 00:07:59,390 But rivers are more than just transportation systems. 166 00:07:59,390 --> 00:08:01,170 The Mississippi river watershed 167 00:08:01,170 --> 00:08:03,240 is the third largest in the world, 168 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,603 and is an environmental treasure like no other. 169 00:08:06,970 --> 00:08:09,470 Congress recognized the Mississippi river system 170 00:08:09,470 --> 00:08:12,000 as a nationally significant ecosystem 171 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,523 with the passing of the 1986 Water Resource Development Act. 172 00:08:16,603 --> 00:08:18,310 WRDA of 1986, 173 00:08:18,310 --> 00:08:21,250 established the environmental management program, 174 00:08:21,250 --> 00:08:22,350 which is known today 175 00:08:22,350 --> 00:08:26,403 as the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program or UMRR. 176 00:08:28,340 --> 00:08:29,680 The Rock Island District 177 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,970 has been proud to lead that program for 30 years, 178 00:08:32,970 --> 00:08:35,270 completing nearly 60 projects 179 00:08:35,270 --> 00:08:38,123 and restoring nearly 110,000 acres of habitat. 180 00:08:39,750 --> 00:08:41,250 The program is world renowned 181 00:08:41,250 --> 00:08:43,650 for its commitment to environmental restoration. 182 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,380 Preserving and protecting the environment 183 00:08:47,380 --> 00:08:50,280 is imperative to the Rock Island District. 184 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,900 But we are also dedicated to protecting people and property 185 00:08:53,900 --> 00:08:56,083 from the unpredictability of mother nature. 186 00:08:57,790 --> 00:08:59,550 Our emergency management mission 187 00:08:59,550 --> 00:09:02,380 has that us respond to catastrophic events 188 00:09:02,380 --> 00:09:04,603 like the Great Flood of 1993, 189 00:09:05,750 --> 00:09:08,673 hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, 190 00:09:09,780 --> 00:09:13,090 record breaking flooding on the Des Moines, Rock, Illinois 191 00:09:13,090 --> 00:09:17,780 and Mississippi rivers in 2008, hurricane Sandy in 2013, 192 00:09:18,830 --> 00:09:20,420 as well as more record-breaking flooding 193 00:09:20,420 --> 00:09:22,670 on the Illinois river in the same year, 194 00:09:22,670 --> 00:09:25,410 and most recently the record breaking flooding 195 00:09:25,410 --> 00:09:27,623 on the Mississippi river in 2009. 196 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:30,550 Throughout all of these events, 197 00:09:30,550 --> 00:09:33,280 the Rock Island District was prepared to help communities 198 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,223 with technical expertise and flood fight material. 199 00:09:37,470 --> 00:09:40,670 In 2006, the district became recognized 200 00:09:40,670 --> 00:09:42,790 as a regional flood fighting center. 201 00:09:42,790 --> 00:09:45,480 And in 2014, it was designated 202 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:47,960 as the national flood fight material center 203 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,950 with the ability to provide sandbags, polyethylene sheeting, 204 00:09:51,950 --> 00:09:55,710 flood pumps, flood fight products, and technical support 205 00:09:55,710 --> 00:09:58,610 to districts throughout the continental United States. 206 00:09:58,610 --> 00:10:00,840 The Rock Island District has had a rich history 207 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:02,380 of providing value to the nation 208 00:10:02,380 --> 00:10:05,190 through a variety of engineering services. 209 00:10:05,190 --> 00:10:08,330 As we look to the future, our people are prepared to adapt 210 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:11,260 to an ever changing landscape and take on each mission 211 00:10:11,260 --> 00:10:14,910 with the utmost professionalism, expertise and ingenuity.