Lock and Dam No. 2 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lock and Dam No. 2 |
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Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 2
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 Location of Lock and Dam No. 2 in Minnesota
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| Location | Dakota County / Washington County, Minnesota, United States. Near Hastings |
| Coordinates | 44°45′35″N 92°52′07″W / 44.75972°N 92.86861°W |
| Opening date | 1930 |
| Operator(s) |  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Upper Mississippi River |
| Length | 722 feet (220.1 m) (movable portion) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Pool 2 |
| Total capacity | 787,000 acre⋅ft (0.971 km3) |
| Catchment area | 36,990 sq mi (95,800 km2) |
Lock and Dam No. 2 is located along the Upper Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota and construction commenced in 1927. The eastern dam portion is 722 feet (220 m) wide and has 19 tainter gates. A hydroelectric station that produces about 4.4 megawatts is owned by the city of Hastings, while the 110 by 600 feet (34 m × 183 m) lock is operated by the St. Paul district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Mississippi Valley Division. There's also a wide earthen dam on the western side of the facility.
Following construction, the original lock walls settled and began to lean out of alignment, so a replacement lock was built. It was finished in 1948. A rehabilitation phase ran from 1987 to 1995. In 2009, Lock and Dam No. 2 became home to the nation's first commercial, federally licensed hydrokinetic power facility, which is a partnership between the City of Hastings and Hydro Green Energy, LLC of Westmont, IL.
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