MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is closing Minneapolis locks and dams to recreational boats due to the rising waters of the Mississippi River.
Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1, located near Minnehaha Falls, reached flows of 30,000 cubic feet per second on Friday.
Regulations require the Corps to close the lock and dams to recreational traffic at that level because the high flows are deemed unsafe.
Boaters are reminded to be extremely careful on the Mississippi during this recent flooding across the state.
Commercial traffic at those locks continues but will be shut down if flows reach 40,000 cubic feet per second.
The Corps maintains a 9-foot navigation channel and 13 locks and dams from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa.
Officials said barges and their tows move about 175 million tons of freight each season on the upper Mississippi through a large system of locks and dams.
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