USACE Vicksburg District announces navigation closure at Thatcher Lock and Dam

 [GJSCUC(1]This link provides the official National Weather Service forecast with the current levels.

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District will close Thatcher Lock and Dam (L&D) to all navigation in the next 12 hours due to water elevation.

Water levels are currently at 80.75 feet, and 81 feet is the threshold to shut down navigation as a safety measure, as the temporary poiree dam cannot be lowered like the previous hinge crest gate. The poiree dam was put in place earlier this year after the removal of the leaking hinged crest gate.

Per normal operations, the district placed a buoy line across the river, the length of the dam, to make the high water hazard visible to boats, fisherman, and other members of the public. All vessels are strongly advised to adhere to the closure and avoid the area near the dam until the district formally reopens navigation.

Water levels are expected to decrease below 81 feet in the next 3-5 days, but this timeline may be extended if the area experiences additional rainfall.

The district will communicate updates to the public and its partners as they become available. Pool levels and forecast for Thatcher Lock and Dam are available at https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lzk&gage=cala4.

A leak in a hinged crest gate’s seal required the district to allow Thatcher L&D’s pool elevation to drop to 72 feet in December 2021, and a poiree needle system fortified with steel I-beams was put in place as a temporary barrier. The leaking gate was successfully removed on Feb. 7. For more about the repair process, visit https://go.usa.gov/xz72U.

Completed and put in operation in 1984, Thatcher Lock and Dam creates a navigable pool all the way to Camden Arkansas, a distance of 52 river miles. Thatcher is the northern most lock & dam on the Ouachita River. 

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.