Federal Government & Agencies

Not Albert, his son Hans. As far as we know, Albert was right about his General Theory of Relativity and other natural laws. Hans was not as famous as his father. But he was the world expert on river sediments. He advised the Corps of Engineers (Corps) on the design of the Old River Control Complex (ORCC) in the 1950s.

Backwater flooding happens when the Mississippi River is higher (about 43’ at Vicksburg) than the Yazoo River and blocks its discharge. It takes less rain to raise and keep the Mississippi above 43’ than it used to. (See More Flood for Less Rain.) So backwater flooding and batture flooding inside the levees are more frequent and longer — over three times longer since 2015. Why? What happened to cause a step change in flooding in 2015?

I don’t know who said it first, but the Mississippi River is flooding more often, longer, and higher for the same or less rain. There are many reasons for this. But the main one is the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). It is in charge of flood control on the lower Mississippi River (below Cairo, Illinois). Congress gave it that job after the great 1927 flood disaster — to prevent a repeat.

The Mississippi River is going to change course (avulse) to the Atchafalaya at the Old River Control Complex (ORCC) above Baton Rouge and discharge to the Gulf near Morgan City, LA. Gravity will send it down this shorter, steeper path in a big flood — maybe the next one. Course changes happen about every 1,000 years when the channel clogs up with silt, flow slows, and floods get higher. The last one happened around the 12th century.