UPDATE #4 - USACE Vicksburg District Thatcher Lock and Dam public notice UPDATE

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District completed fortifying the poiree needle system with I-beams at Thatcher Lock and Dam (L&D) on Tuesday following the successful removal of a leaking hinged crest gate.

The Vicksburg District has begun raising pool levels at the Camden, Arkansas, gauge and will reach the normal level of 77 feet next week. The district will maintain that level until a replacement hinged crest gate arrives.

A leak in the gate’s seal required the district to allow pool elevation to drop to 72 feet in December 2021, and a poiree needle system was put in place as a temporary barrier. In the interim, thick steel I-beams will support the poiree dam and safeguard against logs or other large obstructions.

The district worked with the City of Camden, Arkansas, and other partners to determine that water around Thatcher Lock and Dam is safe for consumption.

The Vicksburg District remains vigilant in communicating the repair process to partners and stakeholders. The district continues to regularly collaborate with the Ouachita River Valley Association (ORVA), City of Camden, Arkansas, and Union County Water Conservation Board, as well as the Arkansas Game and Fish and Arkansas Natural Resource Commission. 

The public is encouraged to contact local authorities and management officials for updates about conditions in their area. Pool levels for Thatcher Lock and Dam are available at https://go.usa.gov/xMJhU.

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.