Results of Sediment Sampling and Elutriate Testing at the Proposed Little Sioux Bend Shallow Water Habitat Project Site

A project is being proposed to create shallow-water habitat (SWH) along the Missouri River in Harrison County, Iowa and Burt County, Nebraska. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is constructing SWH along the lower Missouri River downstream of Gavins Point Dam to mitigate aquatic habitat lost from past bank stabilization and channelization. Increasing SWH will enhance the endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) population along the lower Missouri River. The District is referring to the proposed project as the Little Sioux project. Hydraulic dredging would be used to excavate sediment/soil from an old chute area of the Missouri River to create SWH. The material to be dredged is believed to be primarily sands and silts with some clays. It is proposed that the dredge spoil be discharged to the Missouri River adjacent to the proposed project area.