Having grown up on the Might Mississippi, flood control saves lives and prevents disruptions to transportation and flow of commerce. An excerpt from The Quincy Hearld-Whig reports:
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment met Tuesday to hear testimony on what sponsors hope will be the first reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act since 2007. Panel members got an earful from a variety of speakers representing different waterway interests.
Coastal constituencies asked for greater sand dune establishment to combat storm surges. Spokesmen for U.S. ports and the dredging industry urged the federal government to spend all of the $1.6 billion in cargo fees collected each year on dredging.
River issues came up too, but didn’t get the focused attention proponents wanted. That is expected to change as flooding hits the national news.
“On the Illinois River we expect this to be a flood of record and it’s going to be parallel to about the ’73 flood on the Mississippi,” Klingner said.
A record flood will capture national attention.
Read on…
Lake Levels 