Lock and Dam No. 2

Dam in Minnesota, United States. Near Hastings

44°45′35″N 92°52′07″W / 44.75972°N 92.86861°W / 44.75972; -92.86861Opening date1930; 94 years ago (1930)Operator(s)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul DistrictDam and spillwaysImpoundsUpper Mississippi RiverLength722 feet (220.1 m) (movable portion)ReservoirCreatesPool 2Total capacity787,000 acre⋅ft (0.971 km³)Catchment area36,990 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.