The Mississippi River
1.) The natural process that has been occurring is the erosion of the earth between the Mississippi river and the Atchafalaya river. If the erosion and the flooding continue then the water will destroy the land and everything there. For years the head of the Atchafalaya river was blocked by a massive “raft” -a 30 mile log jam- that defined the efforts of settlers to remove it, In 1839, the State of Louisiana began to dislodge the raft and open up the river as a free flowing and navigable stream. The removal of the log jam provided an opportunity for the Atchafalaya river to enlarge, becoming deeper and wider and carry more and more of the Mississippi’s flow. The Atchafalaya river offered the Mississippi river a shorter outlet to the Gulf of Mexico -- 142 miles compared to 315 -- and by 1951 it was apparent that, unless something was done soon, the Mississippi would take the course of the Atchafalaya.
2.) Design engineers proposed a plan to dam the natural stream Old River and build two control structures, one to operate at all times and stages, and the other to operate only during floods. A lock to preserve navigation between the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya-Red River system was also included.
The Old River control structures were to be operated so as to maintain the distribution of flow and sediments between the lower Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya River in approximately the same proportions as occurred naturally in 1950. That distribution was determined to be approximately 30 percent of the total latitude flow (combined flow in the Red River and Mississippi above the control structures) passing down the Atchafalaya River on an annual basis.
3.) If the Mississippi River changed course it would turn the present river channel into a saltwater estuary and the effects on Louisiana would be catastrophic. Corporations have constructed billions of dollars worth of petrochemical plants, refineries, grain elevators, and fossil fuel and nuclear electric generating plants, most of which depend upon fresh water for their manufacturing process, along both banks of the Mississippi River. Also, cities below Baton Rouge, including New Orleans, would be hard-pressed to find drinking water.
The Atchafalaya Basin could not accept the Mississippi flow without massive flooding, extensive relocations, and the upheaval of the social and economic patterns of that area. A new route would render hundreds of millions of dollars worth of flood control projects useless along the lower Mississippi and expensive flood control projects would be required in the newly created Mississippi delta.
The Missisippi was also managed in New Orleans to limit flooding. This was done through levies that were at first naturally built by the river’s mud flows during floods. Later the levies were built higher and higher to keep the flooding Mississippi into the New Orleans area. But the levies were often ineffective in managing, or led to more flooding. Kelman explains this when they write “With the development in the Mississippi Valley ongoing and artificial banks confining more runoff inside the channel, the river set new high-water marks” (Pg 702). Yet this is not the only example of the failure of Mississippi river management. Only 10 years ago, New Orleans’ levies failed, an example of the inability to control the flooding.
Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of O’Brien in the story, “On the Rainy River” from the book The Things They Carried. As an author and character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. In the story, he faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers himself a coward for doing something he does not agree with; on the other hand, thinking about the outcome of his decision makes him a brave man. Therefore, an individual that considers the consequences of his acts is nobler than a war hero.
...o something that could be safe and withstand the wanted forces of future hurricanes. The delays also served as a problem in the decision because it added to the overall cost and set back the construction of the levees. I studied the levee break during Katrina because I wanted to find out why the engineers decided to design for smaller hurricane forces so that my reader can better understand that the engineers may have underestimated the potential harm to public. I believe that the decisions made about the levee design could have been different and that the changes in design could have possibly prevented some, or most of the damage caused by Katrina in 2005.
By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region. That day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” New Orleans was at particular risk. Though about half the city actually lies above sea level, its average elevation is about six feet below sea level–and it is completely surrounded by water. Over the course of the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers had built a system of levees and seawalls to keep the city from flooding. The levees along the Mississippi River were strong and sturdy, but the ones built to hold back Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and the waterlogged swamps and marshes to the city’s east and west were much less reliable. Even before the storm, officials worried that those levees, jerry-built atop sandy, porous, erodible soil, might not withstand a massive storm surge. Neighborhoods that sat below sea level, many of which housed the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, were at great risk of
Reed, C. (2011, June 20). Mississippi Floods to Raise the Dead Zone in the Gulf.
The river, despite many efforts, found new channels to travel to every time the engineers thought they were getting close. Kevin Fedarko describes how difficult it was for the engineers to control the river, “After an all-out campaign that had cost in excess of $3 million, the breach was finally plugged and the Colorado was forced to resume its course through the delta to the Sea of Cortes” (p. 59). He not only mentions the work done by the men, but also the expenses that went into trying to harness the power of the river for resources. The research that goes towards building and designing dams has improved tenfold over the past 50 years. In an essay written by a student attending Harvard University, the student explained the great effect the dam has had on the surrounding communities, “It was felt that a dam that could control the river would also provide hydroelectric power, eventually rendering the dam self-financing. The growth of Las Vegas and Southern California as major metropolitan centers also depended, to a large extent, on the availability of water and power… the dam possessed an epic quality that stimulated the national imagination. It was apparent that the meaning of the dam itself was beyond even that of a structure that equaled the vast landscape it inhabited. The dam, and the people who built it began controlling nature in a new and powerful way” (par. 3). The author explains how years of advancing dam technology have given the nation a “stimulated imagination” and that has brought forth many of the world’s newest technological advancements. The dam has brought many people ideas and inventions to build and grow on. Dams are the gateway for life-changing tools for harnessing the power that we can get from renewable resources like water and wind that then eliminate harmful chemicals and debris for
For thousands of years dreams of permanently diverting stream water from the Salt and Verde rivers to the arid desert lands of Arizona, through a myriad of canals, would finally come to fruition in the early twentieth century. Flooding and or droughts would always seem to destroy their early attempts at diverting the water. At the end of the nineteenth century, frustrated landowners formed a committee and with the help of Theodore Roosevelt came up with a Reclamation Act that took effect in 1902. This Act birthed the Salt River Project a multipurpose project that would generate hydroelectric power, deliver water, and provide flood protection. The Salt River Project was a dream come true, constructing massive dams and canals, that would supply
These movements west of the Mississippi river caused the newly relocated Indians to give up some of th...
Before the locks and dams were even created, the Army Corps of Engineers had to first fix the river. As said before, the Upper Mississippi was a dangerous place. Boats would get caught on trees, large rocks, (and) the water levels would fluctuate from dangerously low to dangerously high. To avoid rapid flooding at extreme lows on the river, the Army Corps of Engineers
The Mississippi River, the third longest river in North America and one of the world’s major rivers in terms of habitat diversity, flows over 2,000 miles and passes through 10 different states in the United States. Even with its massive size, there has been an ongoing problem and scares that the Mississippi might be taken over by a river called the Atchafalaya. By being taken over, it is meant that there was a navigation lock in the Mississippi River where ships can escape that descends about 30 feet which is drawing off more and more water from the river as years go by. Naturally, the water of the Mississippi’s current flows that direction, and has made a waterscape known as the Atchafalaya.
Rivers have been extremely important to the history of the world. They have shaped mountains, valleys, and even cultures. Rivers are extremely important to the individuals who live in the areas around them. Native Americans, colonists, and us today use rivers in some way or another. And one of the biggest rivers in American history is of course the Mississippi River. At 2,340 miles long the Mississippi river is the second longest river in the United States. It flows through 10 states - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and, of course, Mississippi. At the end it empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
More heavy downpours may increase the likelihood of property damage, travel delays, and disruption in services. Sediment runoff and erosion may clog reservoirs and reduce storage capacity. Local governments may invest in new infrastructure to prevent contamination and protect water resources. Disruptions in barge traffic along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers have already occurred. Changes in the Great Lakes are less clear, but water level decline may force reductions in the weight of cargo shipments and diminish the usability of coastal infrastructure, such as docks and
1), the Dams Sector includes such projects as reservoirs, spillways, powerhouses, canals or aqueducts, navigation locks and other flood risk mitigation systems such as the levee system. The flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina is perhaps the best example of how the Dams sector can negatively affect transportation. Massive flooding throughout New Orleans, as a result of several levee failures, had a debilitating effect on surface transportation. The inability to move people out of the affected area as well as move relief supplies in not only hampered the response effort, but also slowed the recovery effort. Though the national focus was on the immediate area affected by Katrina, “transportation was seriously disrupted. Key railroad bridges were destroyed, requiring the rerouting of traffic and putting increased strain on other rail segments. Barge shipping was halted…[and] the pipeline network…from the gulf was shutdown” (Grenzeback & Lukmann, n.d., p. 1). While the link between the Dams and Transportation Sector is not always apparent, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrine highlight the potential cascading effect especially in low lying areas of the
The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest known aquifer through Great Plains. If spread across the US the Ogallala would cover all 50 states with 1.5 feet of water. If drained, it would take more than 6,000 years to refill naturally. More than 90 percent of the water pumped is used to irrigate crops. $20 billion a year in food and fiber depend on the aquifer. The Ogallala is challenged with how to manage human demands on the layer of water that sprawls underneath parts of either states from South Dakota to Texas. Landowners face a tug-of-war between economic growth and declining natural resources while they strive to conserve what’s left.
The residents living downstream are also effected by the dam as they now have a change in the flow of the river water, this change being a slowing in the flow rate. The natural flow of the river is said to not be handled correctly as yet. Many animals have also been effected as their once home and grazing land has now been moved due to the construction of Spring Grove Dam. Despite all the negative impacts the dam has had, the residents of the area feel that the project has been an overall asset to the area and positive to the community and to our country as a whole.