7 Apr 2020

Chaining ensures Corps’ bridges not weakest link

For more than 25 years, the sound of rattling chains has pierced the air whenever Lyle Peterson crossed one of the bridges spanning the Missouri River at one the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Omaha District’s six mainstem dams.

13 Dec 2019

Invasive species mussel in on Gavins Point Dam

When you’re talking about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ six mainstem dams on the Missouri River, the word small is a relative term. While the dams and their powerhouses vary in size, they are all imposing structures. For instance, Gavins Point Dam, near Yankton, South Dakota, is the smallest of the six, yet it took 7 million cubic yards of earth to build and its three Kaplan generators are capable of generating electricity for 68,000 homes. This makes it that much more ironic that something as small as a zebra mussel could give it such big problems.

11 Dec 2019

Omaha District 2019 Fiscal Year in Review

It’s been another busy year across the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Omaha District, with many significant accomplishments taking place during 2019. The District closed out the fiscal year Sept. 30 with a $1.4 billion program, one of the largest the district has ever managed, surpassing last year’s total of $1.29 billion. That included more than $61 million in civil works, almost $400 million in military missions, $359 million in special projects and $386 million in environmental missions.

26 Jun 2019

Planning Army Corps Managed Water Resource Projects

Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages thousands of water resource projects across the country. The Corps generates hydropower, supplies water to cities and industry, regulates development in navigable waters, restores aquatic ecosystems, assists in national emergencies, provide navigation, flood risk reduction, ecosystem restoration, and is the Nation’s largest provider of recreation. As complicated as many of these sound, each of these missions began as a planning study.

20 Jun 2019

Getting to Know the Omaha District: Chuck McWilliams

With more 700,000 square miles within its area of responsibility, the Omaha District’s 1,200+ employees bring very unique skillsets and experiences to the District’s broad mission set. Positions within the District range from a variety of disciplines, from engineers to real estate experts, to contract specialists, meteorologists, photographers—just to name a few. District employee ages range from low 20s into the mid-to-late 70s. Some of our teammates have experienced some of the best and worse the Midwest has to offer, while others were only toddlers when 9-11 happened. Some have only been with the District for a few weeks, while others have dedicated more than 40 years of their life to the District. All have a story and through this forum, we will begin highlighting some of them so the reader better understand the broad range of diversity we have within the Omaha District.