$1.5 million Eagle Bluffs pump project underway as MDC pauses waterfowl hunting
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A $1.5 million pump replacement project at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area is still underway, and the Missouri Department of Conservation has no set completion date yet, Deputy Director Aaron Jeffries said Thursday.
MDC has paused waterfowl hunting at the area because current water levels are not sufficient to manage the wetlands for hunting. Jeffries told ABC 17 that MDC could not estimate when the project would be finished.
“We’re unable to give a timeline as to when the project’s going to be completed, as we work through some things with the contractor,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries said the $1.5 million figure is the contract amount. He said the project focuses on replacing and relocating the pumps. All pumps at Eagle Bluff will be replaced, due to being outdated, and flood damage, he also mentioned levee repairs.
ABC 17 News asked when the new pumps could arrive, Jeffries said he did not have an estimated timeline. He said MDC had most of the pump materials, but did not confirm that the pumps themselves had arrived.
“I believe we have most of the material on the pumps. It’s just a matter of getting stuff in place,” Jeffries said.
The pumps bring Missouri River water into Eagle Bluffs’ wetlands. Rainfall and treated wastewater from Columbia are the area’s other water sources. MDC spokeswoman Maddie Est said Columbia’s treated wastewater accounts for about 12-20% of the area’s full water needs.
“Right now, the water levels at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area are insufficient to allow for proper management for waterfowl hunting,” Est said.
MDC’s Oct. 21 announcement of the hunting pause said the river pumps are being replaced and that the department cannot maintain the conditions needed to manage waterfowl hunting. It did not give a date for when hunting could resume.
Even once the pumps are running, the wetlands will need time to fill. Jeffries said that process can take weeks or months.
“It’s a process that takes weeks, if not months, to adequately flood an area to provide those hunting opportunities,” Jeffries said.
MDC first announced the pump replacement project in April 2025, saying work was expected to begin that month and finish in fall 2025. In August 2025, the department said the new pumps’ arrival had been delayed and they were then expected to arrive in early 2026. MDC also said it planned to reinstall the original pumps and run them with generators in the meantime.
In October 2025, MDC cited supply-chain issues and said one of the original pumps had failed. The department said the river pumps supply more than 75% of Eagle Bluffs’ water.
Jeffries said Thursday that temporary pumping would not provide enough water across the area. MDC has not announced a new project completion date or a date for waterfowl hunting to resume.
