Mississippi River Flooding
We think the Corps should operate the ORCC to increase the discharge as the river rises — and that Congress should authorize this. Now. This would lower flood crests, make floods shorter, and reduce the risk of levee failure — and a course change. It would also reduce batture and backwater flooding and the resulting economic and environmental damage on some 1.5 million acres in Mississippi and Louisiana. Time to change the flood control plan – before it’s too late.
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The Mississippi River Is Backing Up
You might guess flood stages would move from north to south in the Mid-to-Lower Mississippi River as the waters travel north to south to reach the Gulf of Mexico. You’d be wrong.
MS River in Danger of Being Captured by the Atchafalaya River
Dr. Y. Jun Xu, world-renowned hydrologist of Louisiana State University, explains how South Louisiana is on the verge of one of the worlds most detrimental natural disasters in history.
The River Stands Still
Potential energy, the energy of dropping from a height, is the main driver of MSR waters to the Gulf.
2019 SMASHING MISSISSIPPI RIVER RECORDS
On April 9, 2019, the Mississippi River at Natchez will have spent 95 days this year above the 48 feet flood stage
“The Levee’s Gonna Break”
Water now flows much faster to the Lower MS River due to changes in land use coupled with Corps of Engineers changes to the rivers. During the rainy season, water cannot get from the Lower MS River to the Gulf of Mexico as fast as it arrives from upstream. The bathtub that is the MS River from Natchez to the Gulf has been backing up since the late 1990s.
Rivers Flow to the Sea
Gravity is a fundamental law of nature. It makes rivers flow to the sea. If the natural flow is blocked, there are consequences. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blocked about 40% of the Mississippi River’s peak flow to the Gulf at Morgan City in 1964. The delayed consequences today are unnatural floods on the Lower Mississippi.