Mississippi Valley Division
Encyclopedia
The United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

 Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) and the complementary Mississippi River Commission (MRC) are responsible for maintaining the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 as a navigable waterway while preventing flooding. This includes the operation of harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...

 and lock and dam facilities up and down the river. Additionally, the MVD provides support for military, natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

, and national emergency operations.

The Mississippi Valley Division is made up of six districts, based in:
  • St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Rock Island, Illinois
    Rock Island, Illinois
    Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...

  • St. Louis, Missouri
    St. Louis, Missouri
    St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

  • Memphis, Tennessee
    Memphis, Tennessee
    Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

  • Vicksburg, Mississippi
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...



The Division Commander is directly responsible to the Chief of Engineers
Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....

. Within the authorities delegated, MVD Commander directs and supervises the individual District Commanders. MVD duties include:
  • Preparing engineering studies and design.
  • Constructing, operating, and maintaining flood control and river and harbor facilities and installations.
  • Administering the laws on civil works activities.
  • Acquiring, managing, and disposing of real estate.
  • Mobilization support of military, natural disaster, and national emergency operations.

Mississippi River Commission

The Mississippi River Commission was established in 1879 to facilitate improvement of the Mississippi River from the Head of Passes
Head of Passes
Head of Passes is where the main stem of the Mississippi River branches off into three distinct directions at its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico: Southwest Pass , Pass A Loutre and South Pass...

 near its mouth
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

 to its headwaters. The stated mission of the Commission was to:
  • Develop and implement plans to correct, permanently locate, and deepen the channel of the Mississippi River.
  • Improve and give safety and ease to the navigation thereof.
  • Prevent destructive floods.
  • Promote and facilitate commerce, trade, and the postal service.


For nearly a half century, the MRC functioned as an executive body reporting directly to the U.S. Secretary of War. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States.-Events:The flood began when heavy rains pounded the central basin of the Mississippi in the summer of 1926. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were swollen to...

 changed the mission of the MRC. The consequent Flood Control Act of 1928
Flood Control Act of 1928
The Flood Control Act of 1928 authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct projects for the control of floods on the Mississippi River and its tributaries as well as the Sacramento River in California. It was sponsored by Sen. Wesley L. Jones of Washington and Rep. Frank R...

 created the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project (MR&T). The act assigned responsibility for developing and implementing the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project (MR&T) to the Mississippi River Commission. The MR&T project provides for:
  • Control of floods of the Mississippi River from Head of Passes to vicinity of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
    Cape Girardeau, Missouri
    Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...

    .
  • Control of floods of the tributaries and outlets
    Mississippi River Delta
    The Mississippi River Delta is the modern area of land built up by alluvium deposited by the Mississippi River as it slows down and enters the Gulf of Mexico...

     of the Mississippi River as they are affected by its backwaters.
  • Improvement for navigation of the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

    , to Cairo, Illinois
    Cairo, Illinois
    Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

    . This includes improvements to certain harbors and improvement for navigation of Old
    Old River Control Structure
    The Old River Control Structure is a floodgate system located in a branch of the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It regulates the flow of water leaving the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River, thereby preventing the Mississippi river from changing course. Completed in 1963, the...

     and Atchafalaya River
    Atchafalaya River
    The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River....

    s from the Mississippi River to Morgan City, Louisiana
    Morgan City, Louisiana
    Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....

    .
  • Bank stabilization of the Mississippi River from the Head of Passes to Cairo, Illinois.
  • Preservation, restoration, and enhancement of environmental resources, including but not limited to measures for fish and wildlife, increased water supplies, recreation, cultural resources, and other related water resources development programs.
  • Semi-annual inspection trips to observe river conditions and facilitate coordination with local interests in implementation of projects. For over a century the inspections and hearings have been done aboard the M/V Mississippi
    MV Mississippi
    The M/V Mississippi is a United States Army Corps of Engineers towboat operating on the Mississippi River. It is the largest diesel towboat on the river.- Working boat :...

     and its predecessors.


The President of the Mississippi River Commission, currently U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Major General Michael Walsh, is its executive head. The mission is executed through the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

 Mississippi Valley Division Districts in St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg, and New Orleans.

The headquarters of the operation is in Historic Downtown Vicksburg in the Mississippi Valley Division Building.

See also


External links


This page incorporates public domain text from the Mississippi Valley Division website.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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