THE CHALLENGE OF THE MISSISSIPPI FLOOD

• Published in: Environment : science and policy for sustainable development Vol. 61; no. 5; p. 22
• Main Authors: Myers, Mary Fran, White, Gilbert F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Kirkpatrick Jordon Foundation 03.09.2019
• Subjects: Decisions; Emergency preparedness; Environmental policy; Flood control; Flood management; Flooding; Floods; Landscape; Levees; Psychological distress; River basins; Rivers; Summer; Water management; Water resources management; Wisdom; United States > US
• ISSN: 0013-9157; 1939-9154
• DOI: 10.1080/00139157.2019.1637675

Myers and White discuss the challenge of the Mississippi flood. Massive flooding in the upper Mississippi and lower Missouri river basins last summer caused widespread human distress and provoked sober public questioning of the wisdom of the policies and programs that had contributed to that disaster. The slowly rising muddy water floated a cluster of tough issues into the national arena. It seems possible that, within the current window of opportunity, the nation could resolve three major issues. First and most pressing, decisions must be made about whether to rebuild, strengthen, raise, lower, or abandon the levees along the upper Mississippi and lower Missouri rivers. Second, it remains to be seen what effect these early decisions, in focusing on the emergency, will have on the long-term quality of the natural landscapes and human communities in the region. Third, it is apparent that actions taken to cope with the floods may stimulate measures that could have large significance for water management in the entire nation. (Reprint Dec. 1993)