A Big Flood on the Lower Mississippi

The current flooding along the lower Mississippi River has reached historic levels, bringing back memories of 1927, 1973, and other major flood years. So far the levees have held back major disaster though. Within the state of Mississippi, the river has now crested, barring any rises due to additional rainfall upstream. Estimates are that a couple hundred homes have been impacted. With about half of the floodgates on the Bonnet Carre Spillway now open above New Orleans, the huge amount of river water flowing into Lake Pontchartrain is now giving concerns that small boats may collide with floating debris entering the lake.

In the Mississippi Delta area to the east of the big river above Vicksburg, the current flooding has heightened the debate about a Corps of Engineers pumping scheme that appears headed for a veto by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).