Mississippi River News

Mississippi River News From AOL News

Army Corps Delays Decision on Breaking Mo. Levee

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has put off making a final decision on a controversial plan to intentionally breach a levee protecting valuable farmland from the rising Mississippi River. The agency made the announcement Tuesday in Memphis following a teleconference and decided to put off a formal...

Swollen Rivers Spread Flood Risks Across US -- Even in Drought Areas

Numerous rivers in the Plains, Midwest, Deep South and Northeast are at risk for flooding through the remainder of the week, even in areas suffering from drought and where little rain has fallen recently. The flooding in the Deep South might seem surprising since the region is experiencing a widespread, intense drought....

What's Really Going to Destroy the Gulf Coast

(Oct. 30) -- Six months after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the areas affected by the massive oil spill are beginning to recover. But for years the Mississippi River delta has faced a threat even more insidious than that of a geyser of oil, and for many in coastal wetlands, "recovery" is a...

Massive Fish Kill Not BP's Fault

P. J. Hahn, Plaquemines Parish Coastal Zone Management

(Sept. 16) -- BP is behind the worst accidental oil spill in history, and is thus responsible for the deaths of much affected animal life in the Gulf of Mexico. But the latest gruesome fish kill? Don't count on it. Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries determined that rising temperatures and low tide caused the...

Massive Fish Kill Hits Mississippi River Near Oil Spill [VIDEO]

(Sept. 14) -- The river looked like a road paved with dead fish. Local residents spotted hundreds of thousands of dead fish floating atop the Mississippi River late Friday evening near Bayou Chaland in Plaquemines Parish, La., just north of the Gulf of Mexico, a spot that has been affected by the BP oil spill, the Times...

Mississippi River News From the Web

05/31/12 Corps Awards $20M in Contracts to Fix Birds Point Levee Source: KMOX 1120 - St. Louis MO The Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday it has awarded $20 million worth of contracts to three firms to repair the Birds Point levee, which was intentionally breached last year in southeast Missouri to alleviate flooding on the Mississippi River.
05/31/12 Big Sandy reservoir rising rapidly Source: The Brainerd Daily Dispatch - Brainerd MN The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, anticipates that Big Sandy Lake, north of McGreggor, Minn., will rise an additional two to three feet.
05/31/12 Flood waters expected to level off Source: The Brainerd Daily Dispatch - Brainerd MN Flood waters leveled off on the Mississippi River in Brainerd Wednesday night, but the flood warning remains.
05/30/12 Weather service lifts Mississippi River flood watch Source: St. Cloud Times - St. Cloud MN The National Weather Service has lifted the flood watch for the Mississippi River and the St. Cloud area.
05/30/12 Officials Close Mississippi River Locks, Dams Due To... Source: CBS - WCCO 4 - Minneapolis MN ST. PAUL, Minn. The St. Paul district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed three Twin Cities locks and dams on the Mississippi River to commercial traffic due to high water levels, officials said Wednesday.

Background on Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States (though its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico.

more at wikipedia »