Saverton Dam in Pike County will receive $829 million
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By BETH ZUMWALT
Submitted graphic
On the right side of the graphic which shows where the migration pathway for fish at the Saverton Dam, also known as Lock and Dam 22 will touch Pike Couny. The migration path will lead right by the Park-N- Fish west of Hull and near Gardner Camp. No timeline has been announced for construction to begin.
A fish passage program improvement project at Saverton Dam on the Mississippi River, near the Park-N-Fish west of Hull and near Gardner Camp has been funded through the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP).
The money will also provide completed modernization of the lock and dam at Winfield, Mo.
“That’s the trade-off,” Blake Roderick, executive direction of the Pike-Scott Farm Bureau, said.
The Pike-Scott Farm Bureaus and other agricultural agencies monitor the work on the river transportation system as it transports approximately 60 percent of the grain in the midwest to markets. “You trade off on transportation matters with eco-system matters,” Roderick said.
Blake compared the system to a ladder system frequently used in the west for the same purpose.
The project will increase access to upstream habitats and improve the size and distribution of native migratory fish populations.
The goal of the project will restore a connection for fish migration from the upper Mississippi River and to gain knowledge that can be applied to other fish projects.
The project will include: a rock ramp, known as the fishway, will have a rock bottom and series of aligned boulders with gaps and spaces suitable for water and fish to move in-between; A bridge that extends from the storage yard over the fishway and tie into the spillway to enable people and vehicles to move over and around the fishway; Wwater control structures, or stoplogs, will be integrated into the bridge to control the flow of water into the fishway for research and allow for maintenance And finally, a fixed debris boom immediately upstream of the fishway will protect it from large woody debris and ice; and serve as a safe platform for monitoring and fish management activities.
Roderick said public hearings have been held on the matter and it has been in the works since 2004, with the public hearing held at the dam in 2008.
A release issued by Senators Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Charlse Grasley and Roy Blunt of Missouri, said that enhancing the reliably and capacity of the seventh highest use and most delayed lock ensures the most environmentally conscious and safe methods of transporting bulk commodes and will continue for the next several generations. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley did not endorse the project, which will be overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers. No time line as been released.
