USACE Vicksburg District lowers pool at Thatcher Lock and Dam for routine inspections

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District will lower the Thatcher Lock and Dam (L&D) pool one-foot next week to conduct a routine inspection of the poiree needle system.

Pool drawdown will begin Sept. 25, and inspections will take place the following day. Thatcher’s pool will be raised back to normal levels Sept. 27.

In December 2021, a leak in Thatcher’s hinged crest gate required an emergency repair, where a poiree needle system fortified with steel I-beams was put in place as a temporary barrier. The leaking gate was successfully removed Feb. 7, and the poiree needle system has continuously held the pool at normal levels. For more about the repair process, visit https://go.usa.gov/xz72U.

The public is encouraged to contact local authorities and management officials for updates regarding 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.