Mississippi River Infrastructure

[NyssaAquatica]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/mississippi-river-infrastructure/?utm_term=.a2cf0ab9dc6b

This is an interesting article on the competing interests bound up in the control of the Mississippi. I didn't realize that some levee commissions have illegally raised the height of their levees - resulting in flooding south of them.

[novacaine]

Interesting article................I know Mr Reed of Sny Island and they have been battling that levee for years.........
Its actually a pushed up sand levee that leaks like a sieve and it could be 10 ft higher than the other side and probably fail at the same water surface elevation as the other side..............Not all levees are the same.....especially in the upper Miss.

[novacaine]

Some trivia for you..............back in the day, when one of the Flood Control Acts was being set up (I think it was 1928 ) A famous US Senator from Greenwood,MS was negotiating with Arkansas and Louisiana on a potential overflow area/backwater area............he negotiated that the State of Mississippi side of the river will have its levee 1 ft above the Arkansas and Louisiana side.........................now thats some politics right there.

[NyssaAquatica]

[420 racin]

Maybe a bit off the topic here, but it deals with the MS River and the Infrastructure sort of.

The whole Public/Private debate continues to rage on, however I heard of an interesting perspective I guess. Want to get some takes on this.

Hypothetical of course.
You own a large club along the river and have a camp house on the bank. Now the main navigation channel is on the other side of the river from your camp house with dikes being on your side and an island just down stream of your place in a big bend in the river. Now when the water is up like it is now, the boats can obviously operate outside the navigation channel. Well what if the boats were cutting the bend and going "behind" the island instead of around it like they have to do during low water. Mind you this is all still within the banks of the river, obviously large tows couldn't operate through the woods. Do you as a landowner have the right to request/demand the boats stop coming through there and go around the island like they have to do in low water, because that is where the navigation channel is maintained, because the waves from the boats are causing additional damage to your camp that is right on the top bank and is now flooded partially and has waves lapping up on it. Can you own that and make the boats go around the island like low water and not come "behind the island" (in this hypothetical situation keep in mind the island is a large island with plenty of room for boats to go on both sides, just depends on water depth to cover the dikes.

What say you guys?

[JaMak84]

Bill, you know what the deal is with Wilson Point across the river from Mayersville? Took the kids to the river museum in Vicksburg and noticed that entire point was enclosed by the levee system.

[novacaine]

[novacaine]

[novacaine]

[mshunter77]

[stang67]

[stang67]

[peewee]

Surprisingly the Washington Post put out a well-documented article. It is getting rare these days. In my position today I get to see the everyday dealings with the upper, middle and lower MS. Novacaine I will hold my thought on the Sny but the science is pretty clear. Also referring to the Mr. Criss’s comments, he must not have studied economics, particularly socioeconomics as the river is a life-line for the US’s central states. Funding has been atrocious in recent years. USACE has had unprecedented budget constraints and has been asked to do more with less. The work force is at lowest level in years but magically Congress believes you should do more with less. Sadly it doesn’t work that way you can’t retain a first class workforce in today’s environment with the mindset that employees will work for the PRIDE of their country (I heard this comment come straight from a US congressman).

[JaMak84]

[420 racin]

My understanding would be if it’s inside the banks you are out of luck.[/quote]

I agree, totally, I was kinda shocked when asked who a fellow needs to talk to in order to get the barges from running right there. So another question that can arise from this, you say as long as you are in the banks you are good (to run a boat that is) does that extend to hunters/fishermen, up into the Oxbow's as well? As long as you are inside the old "Banks" of the river, you are good? (for the record I think so) alot of folks get the old banks confused with the old thalwag/channel. What the gentleman was asking is for the tow boats to run in the thalwag of the river and not just anywhere within the banks, which is think is ridiculous.

Novacaine... We have gage data for the whole river, but you say bank full..some would argue and say flood stage. bank full and flood stage are different. The Corp regulates them (permitting side) to the Ordinary High Water mark (OHWM). which is below flood stage.

I just thought it kinda absurd to have such audacity as to request the tow boats on the MS River stop running so close to "Your" bank of the river. Imagine the request if you were to pull up behind that island an throw out some decoys.

Is there a difference is barge traffic and hunters/fishermen using the water? IF so what is the difference?