ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, anticipates that Big Sandy Lake, north of McGreggor, Minn., will rise an additional two to three feet.
The Corps of Engineers is and has been keeping the dam wide open, and the water is flowing to the Mississippi River, although the outflow is hampered by the high water level in the Mississippi River.
The area received 7.37 inches of rain from May 19 to 29, and the reservoir is currently at approximately 1,218.3 feet and rising. The lake may rise to between approximately elevation 1,220 and 1221 feet, a level not seen since 2001, in the next 10 to 14 days.
Property owners should take caution to move any boat lifts, docks, etc., to higher ground.
Corps of Engineers staff will continue to monitor the situation on the reservoirs and in the river both upstream and downstream.
“When the Mississippi River is high, it raises the water level below Sandy Lake Dam which restricts the dam’s outflow,” said Corps’ hydraulic engineer Brian Johnson.
