GRE AT L AKES AND OHIO RIVER DIVISION

CHICAGO DISTRICT CIVIL WORKS REALIGNMENT

WASHINGTON ISLAND

OCONTO PENSAUKEE STURGEON BAY CANAL BIG SUAMICO

ALGOMA DEPERE

BY PATRICK BR AY, Chicago District

Lake Michigan Area Office (Appleton) MENASHA

KEWAUNEE RAPIDE CROCHE DAM KAUKAUNA DAM CEDARS DAM

UPPER APPLETON DAM LOWER APPLETON DAM

T

SHEBOYGAN

PORT WASHINGTON

MILWAUKEE

Projects Offices (9) Locks and Dams (6)

KENOSHA

Dams (12) Reservoirs (3) Chicago

WAUKEGAN HARBOR Northern Area Office

CHICAGO HARBOR Chicago River Lock

Chicago District Main Office

Lockport Lock & Dam

Dresden Island Lock & Dam

MICHIGAN CITY HARBOR

CALUMET INDIANA HARBOR HARBOR BURNS SMALL BOAT HARBOR

TJ O'Brien Lock & Dam Brandon Road Lock & Dam

BURNS HARBOR

Calumet Area Office

Marseilles Lock & Dam

Mississinewa Lake

J. EDWARD ROUSH LAKE DAM J.E. Roush Lake

Salamonie Lake Upper Wabash Area Office SALAMONIE LAKE DAM Mississinewa Lake

Salamonie Lake

J. Edward Roush Lake

MISSISSINEWA LAKE DAM

organizations. Approximately 30 personnel who live and work in the Chicago metropolitan area now find their district headquarters a lot closer to home. The goal is to have no adverse effects on employees, no reductions in pay, and no geographic relocations of personnel, and no negative cost or schedule impacts on projects. Individual employees in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin will report to the Chicago District. Still, they already live and work in these states. n

DETROIT DISTRICT RAPIDLY RESPONDS TO MICHIGAN’S CORONAVIRUS CRISIS BY PENNY CARROLL , Detroit District

TWO RIVERS MANITOWOC

IMAGE COURTESY CHICAGO DISTRICT

he U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) adjusted its Civil Works Program boundaries within the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division (LRD) in 2020 to sustain a healthy workload across USACE. At midnight March 29, 2020, the division transferred to the Chicago District: • the Lake Michigan watershed within the state of Wisconsin; • the upper Wabash River watershed in the state of Indiana; and • the upper Kankakee River and Iroquois River watersheds in the state of Indiana. The Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) transferred: • inland waterways infrastructure within the existing Chicago District boundaries; and • the headwaters of the Illinois River, including the remainder of the Fox and Kankakee rivers’ watersheds. Additionally, a new construction design team will be established within the district. In total, the Chicago District grew from about 4,000 square miles to more than 31,000 square miles. A balanced workload will provide continued program sustainability within LRD and MVD. All districts will be positioned as sustainable, healthy organizations, providing high value to the nation. In the 1970s, USACE found the general public increasingly reluctant to support large-scale projects. Toward the end of the decade, this reluctance began to be reflected in a declining workload for the Chicago District. In 1980, after a significant reorganization study initiated by USACE, Chicago District activities in Illinois outside of the metropolitan area transferred to the Rock Island District and activities in Wisconsin moved to the Detroit District. The realignment of the Chicago District addresses a workload imbalance and ensures all districts remain sustainable and healthy

Kewaunee Operations Office

GREEN BAY

LITTLE KAUKAUNA LITTLE CHUTE

I

n mid-March 2020, just as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Detroit District was readying to take on anticipated massive flooding issues associated with record-high lake levels in the Great Lakes region, the nation was preparing to take on another disaster: coronavirus. While watching numbers of COVID-19 cases rise in the nation, Detroit District leadership predicted supporting Michigan 27