Vicksburg District

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2016 #WinterFlood

During a historic winter flood response such as we are witnessing, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District is continually assisting levee boards, state and local government agencies along the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi to inspect and observe the levees, relief wells and seepage berms installed since the 2011 event.

A rain system passed over western Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and southern Illinois that left 10 to 20 inches of precipitation over a thirty day period that filled an already saturated watershed. The resulting run-off entered the Arkansas, the Red and the Missouri rivers and made it's way past Vicksburg, Natchez and New Orleans during the month of January. The predicted/resulting crest of the Mississippi River at Vicksburg was 52 feet on January 15, 2016.

Public safety is our main priority and our systems are performing as designed. We will continue working with our local partners to monitor conditions and take any needed action to address any impacts in the Vicksburg District.

There are teams performing joint inspections and surveillance operations searching for cracks, seepage, sink holes, slides or any damage that might jeopardize the integrity of the levee system. Working along side levee board teams to correct problems as they are discovered.

Questions? Please e-mail us at: CEMVK-PA@USACE.ARMY.MIL or call us at 601-631-5000.

Corp levee inspector and a sand boilCorps employees with levee board memberA row of relief wells behind a levee to prevent sand boils and seepage.Detail view of a relief well tht prevents sand boils eroding under the leveeAerial view looking east along I-20 at Vicksburg, MS.

 

Dec 2015 Eagle Lake Public Meeting Video

News

Mississippi River and Tributaries System efficiently passing flood crest, operation of Morganza Floodway is not required (click)

VICKSBURG, MISS., January 11, 2016 – Based on current Mississippi River forecasts by the National Weather Service and hydraulic modeling, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not anticipate operating the Morganza Control Structure during this high-water event.

“The Mississippi River and Tributaries project allows the Corps to undertake an MR&T systems approach to managing Mississippi River high-water events,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Wehr, commanding general, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi Valley Division. “The latest information indicates that the river crest can be safely passed through South Louisiana without operation of the Morganza Control Structure.”

 

Corps continues to fight Mississippi River flooding, crest moving south from Cairo (click)

VICKSBURG, MISS., January 5, 2016 – Almost 300 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel from throughout the Mississippi Valley Division are continuing to combat flooding from high Mississippi River levels as the river crested January 3 at 56 feet on the Cairo gage. Public safety is the Corps number one priority, and as record-breaking river levels recede on the upper Mississippi and its tributaries, flood fighters remain vigilant around the clock to rapidly respond to trouble spots.

 

Major flooding threatens Mississippi River Valley, Army Corps flood fighters fully engaged (click)

VICKSBURG, MISS., December 29, 2015 – The Mississippi Valley Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, fully activated its flood fighting emergency management operations for the Rock Island, St. Louis, Memphis, Vicksburg and New Orleans districts to manage rapidly rising water levels on the Mississippi River and several tributaries, with the highest Mississippi River levels since the Great Flood of 2011.

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