Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t just launch a study, but a mega study with a goal of guiding effective management of the Lower Mississippi River.
The project has a timeline of five years and a price tag of $25 million invested into its mission. The Corps said the study will identify recommendations for managing this proven volatile region.
As the name suggests, the Lower Mississippi River is the bottom portion of the greater Mississippi River. Downstream of Cairo, Illinois, the Lower is defined from the confluence of the Ohio River and Upper Mississippi River.
This stretch of waterway flows just under 1000 miles to the Gulf of Mexico and is easily the most trafficked portion of the entire Mississippi River system.
By way of barge, inland river ports, like St. Louis and Memphis, are vital hubs to the Midwest’s agricultural trade with the rest of the world.
However, the river’s asset as a commercial conduit is often threatened by volatile conditions. The Lower is prone to hurricane and storm damage, flooding, and, as exhibited last year, bone-rattling droughts.
Consider these wily conditions the reason for why the Corps is calling its study…mega!
A study of mega size and scope
The Corps’ recommendations from the study will pertain to comprehensive management that includes hurricane and storm damage reduction, flood risk management, structure and nonstructural flood control, floodplain management strategies, navigation, ecosystem and environmental restoration, water supply, hydropower production, recreation and other purposes as determined by the Secretary of the Army.
Given the Lower’s tremendous length, the study area runs from Cape Girardeau in Southeast Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico, encompassing seven states: Arkansas; Illinois; Kentucky; Louisiana; Mississippi; Missouri; and Tennessee.
The Corps recognizes the ambitious size and scope of this project, however, reiterates its necessity. “[This study identifies] what, if any, opportunities and modifications are needed to account for the change in river dynamics as well as the needs of the Nation,” Col. Cullen Jones, commander of the Corps’ New Orleans District said.
Jones went on to stress the river’s importance as one of the world’s premier natural resources: “We are committed to ensuring it remains so in the future.”
As commander of the New Orleans District, Jones will lead the study as advised by federal regulation that authorized this project in the first place.
Other personnel from Corps districts across the Lower Mississippi River, including Memphis and St. Louis, will provide additional support.
However due to the study’s size and scope, active participation from stakeholders as well as the public are not just encouraged, but deemed critical for a successful mission.
The river serves a mega role for trade
Some 500 million tons of goods, including more than half of all American grain exports, are moved by barge annually through the Mississippi River.
Christened the nickname “The Ag Coast of America”, the expansive waterway’s respective impact on trade can be likened to the West and East coasts.
Last year’s drought was devastating.
The river’s flow of goods was cut by 45 percent equaling a reported $20 billion in economic damages and losses. The Corps itself added for every one foot of draft lost on a barge, some 6,000 bushels of soybeans are lost as well.
To make matters worse, the drought lasted over the summer and fall, well into last year’s harvest season. It wasn’t until December when shipping conditions returned to normal.
Final Thoughts
The five-year endeavor that is the mega-study will hopefully identify effective recommendations for how to prepare and manage the Lower Mississippi River from future peril.
While the study won’t reveal any rain dance choreography to prevent droughts or sorcery to ward off hurricane flooding, if executed effectively, it’ll unlock insights into how modest humans can best negotiate the Mighty Mississippi and its temperamental nature.
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