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  • USACE sets timeline for Lucky Peak Lake drawdown

    BOISE, Idaho – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District will begin drawing down the water levels of Lucky Peak Lake during the fourth week of July in preparation of the Turner Gulch boat ramp rehabilitation project.

  • Seasonal Variation in Near-Surface Seasonally Thawed Active Layer and Permafrost Soil Microbial Communities

    Abstract: Understanding how soil microbes respond to permafrost thaw is critical to predicting the implications of climate change for soil processes. However, our knowledge of microbial responses to warming is mainly based on laboratory thaw experiments, and field sampling in warmer months when sites are more accessible. In this study, we sampled a depth profile through seasonally thawed active layer and permafrost in the Imnavait Creek Watershed, Alaska, USA over the growing season from summer to late fall. Amplicon sequencing showed that bacterial and fungal communities differed in composition across both sampling depths and sampling months. Surface communities were most variable while those from the deepest samples, which remained frozen throughout our sampling period, showed little to no variation over time. However, community variation was not explained by trace metal concentrations, soil nutrient content, pH, or soil condition (frozen/thawed), except insofar as those measurements were correlated with depth. Our results highlight the importance of collecting samples at multiple times throughout the year to capture temporal variation, and suggest that data from across the annual freeze-thaw cycle might help predict microbial responses to permafrost thaw.

  • Historic Landscape Inventory for Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky

    Abstract: This project was undertaken to provide the US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, with a cultural landscape inventory of Zachary Taylor National Cemetery via funding from the St Louis Mandatory Center of Expertise (MCX) for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (CMAC). The 16-acre cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, is found in Louisville, Kentucky, and contains more than 11,400 burials. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) was tasked with inventorying and assessing the cultural landscape at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery through the creation of a landscape development context, a description of current conditions, and an analysis of changes to the cultural landscape over time. All landscape features were included in the survey as federal policy on national cemeteries requires that all national cemetery landscape features be considered contributing elements, regardless of age. The historic landscape elements of the cemetery, like the original overarching Beaux-Arts plan and circulation, cannot be restored due to the current number of burials. However, some elements can be reemphasized by historic landscape management planning, such as the restoration of the portions of the allée of pin oak (Quercus palustris) trees.

  • Additional boat ramp to close at Saylorville Lake

    Due to rising water levels at Saylorville Lake, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District will be closing the Cherry Glen High Water Boat Ramp at 10 p.m. today. Ongoing closures remain in place at Cherry Glen Lower Boat Ramp, the lower parking lot at Lakeview High Water Boat Ramp, Oak Grove Beach Access, Sandpiper Boat Ramp, NW Jester Park Drive, and Lakeview Main Boat Ramp. These closures will remain in effect until lake levels recede, and the areas can be cleaned and safely reopened.

  • Historic Landscape Inventory for Mare Island Naval Cemetery, California

    Abstract: This project was undertaken to provide the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA), with a cultural land-scape inventory of Mare Island Naval Cemetery. The approximately 2.5-acre cemetery is located in Vallejo, California, and contains more than 900 burials. Mare Island Naval Cemetery is part of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard historic district, which was listed concurrently on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The NCA tasked the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) with inventorying and assessing the cultural landscape at Mare Island Naval Cemetery through the creation of a landscape development context, a description of current conditions, and an analysis of changes to the cultural landscape over time. All landscape features were included in the inventory as NCA requested ERDC-CERL to follow federal policy on national cemeteries that requires that all national cemetery landscape features be considered contributing elements, regardless of age.

  • A Study of Phased-Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) for Detecting, Sizing, and Characterizing Flaws in the Welds of Existing Hydraulic Steel Structures (HSS)

    Abstract: Hydraulic steel structures (HSS) are components of navigation, flood control, and hydropower projects that control or regulate the flow of water. Damage accumulates in HSS as they are operated over time, and they must be inspected periodically. This is often accomplished using nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques. If damage is detected, the structure’s fitness for continued service must be evaluated, which requires information on the location and size of discontinuities. This information can be obtained using ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques. However, there is limited information on the reliability of UT techniques with respect to detecting, sizing, and characterizing flaws in HSS. This study addresses this gap. Round-robin experiments were carried out using phased-array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) to scan weld specimens representing a variety of HSS geometries. The results of the round-robin experiments were analyzed to estimate the probability of detection (POD) and to assess the influence of factors potentially affecting POD. Uncertainty in estimates of flaw length and height were described, and partial safety factors were derived for use in fitness-for-service analyses. These results demonstrate the importance of the technician as a factor influencing the reliability of NDT techniques applied to HSS.

  • Local, state and federal officials to sign cost share agreement for Smokey Hill River restoration study

    Officials will sign a Feasibility Cost Share Agreement for the Smokey Hill River Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration General Investigations study in a signing ceremony in Salina, Kansas, at the Salina Public Library on July 15, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. The signing ceremony will formally initiate the General Investigations Feasibility Study. Present at the signing ceremony will be officials from the City of Salina, Senator Jerry Moran’s office and the Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

  • Army Corps shares update on Francis E. Walter Dam water release schedule

    The U.S. Army Corps Engineers’ Philadelphia District updated the 2024 Francis E. Walter Dam recreation plan. The Army Corps updated the plan, which states whitewater and fisheries releases will be scheduled if enough water storage is accumulated in the reservoir.

  • MKARNS Nav Notice No. SWL 24-54 USCG Advisory Van Buren Railroad Bridge NM 300.8 Update

    Mariners are advised that the rehabilitation work on the Van Buren Railroad Drawbridge (NM 300.8), as stated in Nav Notice 24-07, is scheduled to begin on August 22, 2024 at 6 a.m. and last until September 9, 2024 at 6 a.m.

  • Bear Creek Dam gate maintenance project plans released

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District is planning to replace emergency and service gates at the Bear Creek Dam’s reservoir intake structure in Littleton, Colorado, in December 2024. While still functional, recent inspections have shown corrosion is not permitting the gates, steel liners and other metal components to seal properly, allowing water to leak while closed. Therefore, maintenance actions need to be taken to ensure the structure remains functional in the future.