4.09 Land and Water Use Characteristics
- Introduction
- General Description of Navigation Pools
The portion of the Mississippi River and floodplain in the St. Louis District is in a well-defined valley which was excavated by a large glacial stream. The present channel follows a winding course in a wide floodplain of alluvial terraces deposited by the glacial stream. The floodplain is bordered by high, massive limestone bluffs of scenic beauty, rolling hills, and hardwood forests. The distance between the valley walls varies. The landscape often shifts from the high limestone bluffs on one shoreline to broad floodplains on the other.
- Mississippi River Navigational Pools
- Pool 24 Land Use Description
In Pool 24, the river width varies greatly to a maximum width of approximately one-half mile at Louisiana, Missouri. The alluvial floodplain measures a maximum width, approximately seven miles, at the Salt River tributary on the Missouri side of the river. The average width of the alluvial plain of this pool is about five miles. The pool flows toward the west bluff, leaving A large floodplain on the Illinois side where extensive agriculture and small towns occur protected by the levees.
Approximately 70% of the alluvial plain of Pool 24 is used for agriculture. The majority of the agriculture is cropland, but some pasture or grasslands exist. Agricultural activities probably could not be practiced in its present magnitude without the flood protection afforded by the existing levee systems.
Forest conditions occupy most of the remaining portion of the floodplain. Bottomland forests are found along the riverbanks, on the islands, along streams, around lakes and sloughs, and in low-lying areas. In general, forests exist in areas too wet to farm. The largest wooded area, a high-quality pin oak stand, is found on the southern half of the oval-shaped bottoms at the mouth of the Salt River and in managed by the MDC as the Ted Shanks Conservation Area.
Some lakes and wetlands occur on the floodplain in Pool 24. Lakes include the permanent water bodies that have, either through drainage, restricted exits, or are land locked. Lakes frequently occur along the base of the levees on the riverward side. Many of these lakes have formed from borrow pits resulting from levee construction. Others occupy abandoned river meanders and side channels.
Ownership and management of public lands is significant in Pool 24. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service operates the Delair Division of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge. The Ted Shanks Conservation Area and the Upper Mississippi Conservation Area, managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, encompasses approximately 7,000 acres of lands and waters managed for fish and wildlife purposes. The MDC manages most of the Corps River Project lands and waters in Missouri for fish and game purposes as authorized in the "General Plan and Cooperative Agreement." The Corps conducts stewardship management of most of the federal lands acquired for Pool 24 on the Illinois side. Public access areas along this pool are developed and operated by either the Corps or the State of Missouri.
Small farming communities along the floodplain include the communities of Louisiana and Ashburn, Missouri; and Pleasant Hill, Rockport, New Canton, and Kinderhook, Illinois. The Missouri towns are located on the banks of the river, while the Illinois towns are several miles from the river usually along the edge of the floodplain. Louisiana, which had a 1995 population of 3,900, is the largest community.
State Highway 79 in Missouri, and State Highway 96 in Illinois extend the length of Pool 24 on both sides. A rail line runs the length of the pool on the Missouri side as well. US Highway 54 and a railroad bridge cross the river at Louisiana, Missouri.
Industries in the area are primarily agriculture, cement, industrial chemicals, nurseries and retail services. Industrial land-use consists of four major barge terminals for the shipment of cement, sand, grain, and chemicals.
- Pool 25 Land Use Description
The river in Pool 25 is braided with islands and varies in width from .5 miles to 1.5 miles. Upstream from Lock and Dam 25, the floodplain, measured bluff to bluff, gradually widens from a width of 3-1/2 miles to five miles at Clarksville. The western (Missouri) portion of the floodplain is the widest side in the Pool 25 and is leveed almost the entire length. The eastern side of the alluvial plain is narrow and only the northern one-third is leveed.
Approximately 60% of the floodplain of Pool 25 is used for agriculture; most of the remaining 40% is in bottomland forest or other wetlands. The broad west side of the floodplain comprises the bulk of the area’s agriculture. A relatively small amount of agriculture is found on the narrow eastern floodplain.
Forests occur along the riverbanks, on the numerous islands, along stream and riverside channels, and around lakes. Large areas of forest occur on the eastern floodplain, particularly in the areas from Batchtown to Hamburg, Illinois, in Calhoun County. Most of this land is in public ownership as a part of the navigation Pool 25 project and is jointly managed by the Corps, USFWS and IDNR. The riverbanks are forested nearly the entire length of Pool 25.
Public lands acquired for the navigation project are primarily confined to low-lying areas on the alluvial plain, adjacent to the river. Approximately 9,000 acres of Corps project lands and waters are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the States of Illinois and Missouri. This includes the Batchtown Division of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge which has approximately 2,100 acres. The areas managed by these agencies are for fish and wildlife purposes in accordance with the "General Plan and Cooperative Agreement." In addition, some of the developed recreation accesses on project lands are leased to and operated by the States of Illinois and Missouri. The Corps also provides public access on Pool 25, primarily on the Missouri Side.
Urban development consists of the farming communities of Winfield, Foley, Elsberry, Annada, and Clarksville in Missouri, and Belleview, Pleasant Hill, Mosier, Hamburg and Batchtown in Illinois. Elsberry, which had a 1995 population of 2,200, is the largest community in the Pool 25 area.
A rail line parallels the river along the foot of the western bluff on the Missouri side of Pool 25. State Highway 79 borders the Pool on the Missouri side and Calhoun County roads and a portion of State Highway 96 borders the Pool on the Illinois side.
- Pool 26 Land Use Description
In Pool 26 the floodplain widens to approximately 5-1/2 miles at O’Fallon, Missouri. The river is widest at Alton, Illinois, where it is just over one mile wide between vegetated banks. The width is due to the addition of the Illinois River, which measures about one-half mile across at the confluence of the two rivers at Grafton.
The floodplain produced by the joining of the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers, measures over 12 miles across from bluff to bluff.
In Pool 26, the alluvial floodplain and bordering uplands feature extensive forest and wetland areas. Major land-uses include recreation, agriculture, residential, commercial/industrial, transportation, extractive, and combined urban.
Approximately 60% of the alluvial plain of Pool 26 is used for agriculture. The islands in Pool 26 are not used for farming. The main stem Mississippi portion of Pool 26 is not leveed except for the very lower end of the pool. Woodriver Levee District by Alton, Illinois, provides urban flood protection. Consolidated North Levee District is a large agricultural levee that provides protection from the Missouri River confluence area to the West Alton, Missouri area.
Forest conditions occupy most of the remaining portion of the floodplain. Bottomland forests are found along the riverbanks, on the islands, along streams, around lakes, and in low-lying areas. In general, forest exists in areas too wet to farm.
Lakes and wetlands are present on the floodplain and the Pool islands; however, many have been ditched and drained over the years primarily for agricultural use.
Public lands acquired for the navigation project are primarily confined to low-lying areas on the alluvial plain adjacent to the river and some of the islands in the river. Most of these lands are managed for recreation and stewardship.
In Pool 26, including the lower 15 miles of the Illinois River, there are approximately 18,000 acres of project lands and waters managed for fish and wildlife purposes by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the States of Illinois and Missouri. This includes over 4,100 acres of the Calhoun Division of the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge. These project lands were established in accordance with the "General Plan and Cooperative Agreement" with the Corps as authorized by the Fish and WIldlife Coordination Act.
Development on the floodplain consists of the Missouri farming communities of West Alton, Portage des Sioux, Orchard Farm, Old Monroe, and Winfield. St. Charles County, Missouri, metropolitan areas partially on or adjacent to the floodplain include. : St. Charles, St. Peters and O'Fallon. Communities on the Illinois side include Alton, East Alton, Godfrey, Elsah, Chautauqua, and Grafton. Numerous cabins and private and commercial marinas are located along the Missouri shoreline between Melvin Price Locks and Dam and the upper reaches of the pool near St. Charles, Missouri. The Illinois side of the river has only two marinas. Route 100 along the river is designated a national scenic byway and features bike trails, scenic views, and quaint towns that are popular with tourists.
Two rail lines, Missouri Highways 79 and 94, and several county roads parallel the pool on the west. The AmerenUE generating plant, located about two miles east of Portage des Sioux, Missouri, is the only commercial/industrial development. State Highways 143 and 100 (National Scenic Byway) follow the river on the Illinois shore.
- Lower Illinois River Area
The Lower Illinois River portion of Pool 26 flows through an alluvial floodplain averaging 4 miles in width. The river width between vegetated banks is narrow, averaging about one-fourth mile across. This width is not constant where islands exist. The river widens to three-fourths mile across in several places.
Pool 26 influences the lower 80 miles of the Illinois River from Grafton, Illinois, to LaGrange, Illinois. Land use in the Illinois River floodplain, north of Nutwood, is approximately 80% agricultural, consisting primarily of cropland. The southern reach of the river from Kampsville downstream features a complex system of lakes, wetlands, and forest that are primarily navigation project acquired lands, and thus very little agriculture occurs on the floodplain.
Bottomland forests and lakes account for more than one-half of the floodplain area south of Nutwood. North of Nutwood, forest is found in narrow corridors along riverbanks, streams, and on the few islands. Large forested tracts occur around Meredosia Lake where the land is low-lying, tends to flood, and is risky to farm. Lakes and wetlands, like forests, are relatively scarce on the floodplain; relatively sizeable lakes occur only from Grafton to the Kampsville area and in the Meredosia area.
Pere Marquette State Park, the largest state park in Illinois, is located on the lower Illinois River, just upstream from Grafton. Numerous river and lake public access sites are located on project lands. Numerous cottage sites leased on project lands are also present.
Development along the Illinois River consists of regularly spaced and moderately sized farming communities and regional centers near the bluff and on the floodplain. Communities at the base of the bluffs include Grafton, Nutwood, Hardin, Spanky, Michael, Eldred, Kampsville, Bluffdale, Hillview, Pearl, Montezuma, Florence, Oxville, Valley City, Chambersburg, and LaGrange. Floodplain communities consist of East Hardin, Naples, and Meredosia. Meredosia (pop. 1,100) and Hardin (pop. 1,000) are the largest communities on this reach of the Illinois River. Three rail lines serve the floodplain area. State Highway 100 follows the river from Grafton to Meredosia. River ferries exist near Grafton and Kampville. River bridges are located in Hardin and near Florence, Valley City and Meredosia.
- Pool 27
The Corps of Engineers operates and maintains approximately 3,400 acres of land acquired for the Locks 27 and Chain of Rocks Canal Project. The Locks and Canal project was authorized by Congress in 1945 and construction was completed in 1953. The project is located entirely on the Illinois side of the river across the river from the City of St. Louis and adjacent to Granite City, Illinois.
The canal extends adjacent to the Mississippi River from RM 184 to RM 194.5. The locks facility includes one 1,200-foot main lock chamber and one 600-foot auxiliary lock chamber.
This project is part of the Mississippi River Nine-Foot Channel Project and was designed to bypass a dangerous reach of the Mississippi River in which rock ledges, excessive velocities, and shallow navigation depths constituted hazards to navigation. Levees are located on each side of the canal, the west canal levee affording protection to the Chouteau Island Drainage and Levee District and the east canal levee forming a component part of the riverfront levee system of the East Side Levee and Sanitary District which protects the valuable industrial/ residential urban areas on the floodplain in the Illinois Metropolitan area.
The east side of the canal includes the Tri-City Regional Port District. Other industrial sites, Granite City proper and the Melvin Price Support Center Army base are immediately adjacent to project lands.
The west side of the canal includes Chouteau and Gaberet Islands which and primarily agricultural areas that are protected by levees. The "green space" afforded by the project is a popular area with residents from the surrounding Metropolitan area. A Madison County sponsored bike trail is developed on the east canal levee area and extends to the project visitor's center at the locks site. The Corps provides public access sites on both sides of the canal and on the Mississippi shoreline for sightseeing and fishing. The State of Illinois operates a Lewis and Clark memorial on project lands on the upstream end of the project. A Lewis and Clark Museum and park is being developed on adjacent lands near the monument site.
Illinois State Highway 3 runs along the east side of the project area. The Interstate 270 Bridge crosses the Mississippi River and the canal over the project at RM 191.
- Open River
The open river portion of the Mississippi River in the St. Louis District starts just below Locks 27 in the St. Louis Metropolitan area (River Mile 183.2). Although not formally designated, this stretch of the Mississippi is often locally referred to as the Middle Mississippi River. This local designation seems to be quite accurate. The last major series of rapids which form a natural impediment to year around navigation, are circumvented by the Chain of Rocks Canal, just upstream of where this reach of the river begins. As the Mississippi flows downstream of the Merchant’s Bridge, it begins to widen and show propensities to meander and cut new channels. The commercial tows become larger and the number of commercial harbors and out loading facilities increases. The towns and villages become more river oriented. Recreation takes on a decidedly more riverine flavor, with less water skiing and pleasure boating and more fishing and sand bar type recreational pursuits. This is a river in transition, progressively showing more characteristics of what it is to become, but not fully changing until the Ohio River joins the Mississippi in it’s journey to the Gulf of Mexico. The major tributaries upstream of this stretch of the river include the Illinois and Missouri Rivers. The Ohio, which doubles the volume of water in the Mississippi River, is the major tributary on the lower end of this stretch. Other regionally important tributaries within the lower river of the St. Louis District include the Meramec River, Kaskaskia River, and the Big Muddy River with numerous smaller important rivers and creeks.
The open river generally divides the states of Illinois and Missouri, with isolated pockets of Illinois located adjacent to and contiguous with the state of Missouri and with isolated pockets of Missouri located adjacent to and contiguous with the state of Illinois. This is a result of the rivers’ propensity to meander and the choice of the 1839 thalweg (or river channel) to delineate the boundary between the states.
The development of the surrounding land can be generally characterized as rural and agrarian in nature with isolated areas of highly developed industrialized urban pockets. The largest of these is the St. Louis Metropolitan area and the second largest is the Cape Girardeau-Scott City area. The St. Louis area places a great deal of localized pressure on the Mississippi River due to intensive industrial and urban developments and subsequent pollution.
The deforestation and subsequent agricultural use of the surrounding lands has had and continues to have a dramatic impact on the river. Approximately 70% of the floodplain is in agricultural use. All of these areas are protected by a very extensive levee and drainage system. Erosion from the agricultural fields is the largest contributor to the silt and sediment loss carried by the river. Navigation, one of the first uses of the river by humans, also continues to have a dramatic impact on the river. The increase in commercial navigation can be directly linked to the logging activities and the agricultural development of the basin. After a well-organized commercial transportation system was in place, industrial development began to flourish and add to the increase in commercial navigation. The flood control levee and drainage system have had a dramatic effect by restricting annual flooding (frequency and severity) which, in turn, allows further development of the floodplain.
State Highway 3 in Illinois runs along the length of the Open River. Federal Highway 61 and Interstate 55 run along the Missouri side. Bridge crossings occur between South County, Missouri and Columbia, Illinois and at Chester, Illinois and Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
- Kaskaskia River
The geographic location of the Kaskaskia River Navigation Project is on the edge of the St. Louis MSA. The area is primarily rural rolling farmland with forested areas primarily confined to area rivers, streams and other wetlands or steep hilly areas.
There are 36 miles of navigable waterways located in the Kaskaskia River Navigation Project (KRNP) located from the confluence of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers north along the Kaskaskia to Fayetteville. Although the navigable portion of the river is short, the potential significance of these miles is heightened because the river flows into the Mississippi, thus providing access to all ports on the U.S. inland waterway system and to international deep water ports at Chicago and New Orleans. Therefore, shipment of goods and materials is not limited to Kaskaskia River Navigation Project lands or local markets but has the potential for reaching the entire United States.
The Kaskaskia Regional Port District provides a shipping facility and port on the project and promotes navigation and economic development on the waterway. Location of the Kaskaskia River Navigation Project is south of the most southern lock and dam facility on the Mississippi River
The St. Louis District Corps maintains a 9-foot deep, 225-foot wide channel in the Kaskaskia River during the ice-free season. A lock and dam facility is located on the Kaskaskia north of the confluence of the rivers to maintain the required channel depth on the Lower Kaskaskia. The facility is 600 feet in length and permits a tow of 5 to 6 barges to lock through at one time.
There is one large consumer which has a water supply contract to remove 36 mgd of water from the Kaskaskia River below Carlyle Reservoir. This is the Baldwin Power Plant, operated by Illinois Power Company. With one such large water user on the waterway, there is a problem in any additional industry requiring water consumption trying to locate in the area, as 36 mgd is only 4 mgd above the projected 100 year drought event, and most of the 4 mgd is utilized by the municipal water districts already in the area.
The majority of the land within the three counties surrounding the KRNP is classified as agricultural. The majority of farms in the area are classified as general farms since a variety of crops and livestock are raised on any one particular farm. Most of the land in each of the project area counties is in agriculture. St. Clair County has the lowest percentage of land in agriculture, 75%, due to its urbanization, while Monroe County has the highest of the three with over 90% of its land area in agriculture.
Major field crops produced in the three counties concerned are corn, wheat, and soybeans, followed by hay, oats, and barley.
The project area is accessed by State Highways 3, 154, 13 and 15. River bridge crossings are at Evansville, New Athens and Fayetteville. New Athens is the largest town (pop. 2,000) on the waterway.
- Kaskaskia River Navigation Project Master Plan
In the 1970s, the state of Illinois (Department of Transportation) prepared a Master Plan for the Kaskaskia River Navigation Project to address the current and future uses and management of the approximately 17,000 acres of acquired lands and waters and associated resources of the project. The plan was approved in 1978 jointly by the key project partners i.e. Illinois Department of Transportation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kaskaskia Regional Port District and Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The outcome of the master planning process resulted in the following land use classifications for the project lands and waters:
Table -31 Land Use Classifications
Land acquired by the Corps of Engineers
for Navigation purposes
458 acres in fee
2465 acres in O&M easement
5593 acres in Flowage easement.
Lands acquired by the State of Illinois
Natural Areas
251 acres Prime Industrial Areas
670 acres Wildlife/Resource Management Areas
6297 acres Low Density Recreation Areas
403 acres Intensive Use Recreation Areas
222 acres Multiple Use Management Areas
8674 acres Total
16,975 acres
- Lower Missouri River
The general development of the lands surrounding the lower Missouri River in St. Charles and St. Louis Counties can be characterized as agricultural in nature with the exception of the middle 1/3 of this reach. The middle 1/3 is a highly developed urbanized setting with subdivisions, factories, and commercial landings. The river is used for commercial navigation including gambling boats, tows, and tour boats, recreational boating, fishing, hunting, hiking the shoreline, bluffs and islands, and sight seeing. In addition, a portion of the Katy Trail courses along the river in St. Charles County.
St. Louis County continues to increase in population and St. Charles County ranks among the fastest growing counties in the United States. This continued population growth is placing tremendous pressure on the Missouri River floodplain. In both counties, the issue of green ways and green belts has surfaced as a major initiative to protect and enjoy the river. St. Charles County is better organized in this effort and appears to have the backing of the general public, business and the political establishment.
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