Lock and Dam No. 2 is located along the Upper

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

near

Hastings, Minnesota Hastings is a city mostly in Dakota County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat, with a portion in Washington County, Minnesota. It is near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Vermillion, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin-M ...

and construction commenced in 1927. The eastern dam portion is wide and has 19

tainter gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. A side view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pie with the c ...

s. A

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

station that produces about 4.4

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units, International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), ...

s is owned by the city of Hastings, while the

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

is operated by the

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

district of the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

Mississippi Valley Division The United States Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) is responsible for the Corps water resources programs within 370,000-square-miles of the Mississippi River Valley, as well as the watershed portions of the Red River o ...

. 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.

References

External links

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District: Lock and Dam No. 2U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District: Lock and Dam 2 brochureGoogle Maps: Lock and Dam No. 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lock and Dam No. 02 Buildings and structures in Hastings, Minnesota Dams in Minnesota Driftless Area Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Mississippi River locks Transportation buildings and structures in Washington County, Minnesota United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Gravity dams Dams on the Mississippi River Mississippi Valley Division Locks of Minnesota

See also

References

External links