General Overview
Pools 11 and 12 of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) is the area between Lock and Dam 10 at river mile 615, at Guttenberg, Iowa, and Lock and Dam 12 at river mile 557, near Bellevue, Iowa. Pools 11 and 12 include portions of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Nelson Dewey State Park (Wisconsin), Turkey River Mounds State Monument (Iowa), and Mines of Spain State Park (Iowa). Several populated areas along the river include the cities of Guttenberg, Iowa; Cassville, Wisconsin; Dubuque, Iowa; East Dubuque, Illinois, and Bellevue Iowa.
Primary Response Goals:
1. In general, any spilled oil product should be excluded from backwaters and kept in the main channel of the Mississippi River. Then, if possible, the oil should be diverted with boom and collected on the main shore. Few natural collection sites exist in this part of the Refuge, particularly below the pipeline crossing.
2. The main channel around Cassville, Wisconsin is designated as critical mussel habitat by the US Fish and Wildlife Services. Consult with resource managers to keep spilled product or response actions affecting the substrate in this area
3. Keeping product out of the refuge closed areas is a top priority in any spill event. Due to seasonal high waterfowl use, deflection and exclusion booming of multiple opening and channels should be prioritized.
To further explain the techniques used above, refer to the image labeled 615a – Lock and Dam 10. The strategy for this location is to anchor a boom to the upper end of the rock wall to capture the oil in slack water areas. To remove the oil, skimmers and vacuum trucks are needed.
If a spill occurs, it is essential to notify federal, state, and local authorities within 24-hours of the spill. To inform federal authorities, call the National Response Center (NRC) at (800) 424-8802. To contact state authorities in Illinois, please call (217) 782-7860. To reach state authorities in Wisconsin, please call (800) 943-0003. To contact state authorities in Iowa, please call (515) 725-8694. To contact local authorities, please call 911. For more detailed information, refer to the Upper Mississippi River Spill Response Plan.
Click to Download Pool 11 and 12 GRP
The Upper Mississippi River Pools 11 and 12 Geographic Response Plan is available to download as a ZIP file. To download the files to use them locally, click on the link above. The download should start automatically, or your browser will prompt you to approve and save the file. The ZIP file is 224 MB, so it may take between 10-20 minutes to download depending on your Internet speed. Once the file is downloaded, unzip the files and open the SRA_Pools11_12.exe file.
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