The Future

The Mississippi River is a dynamic force that requires constant vigilance. Since its inception, the MRC has initiated tremendous advances in hydraulics engineering and in the design and construction of regulating works, levees, and bank revetment; but the commission’s work is far from over. 

In conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the MRC continues to gather and create new information to shape policy that affects the Mississippi watershed.

The ongoing need to study and inspect the relationship between human activity and the river represents an enduring and evolving challenge for the MRC that is manifested through several basin-wide initiatives, such as the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study, the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Study, the Upper Mississippi Comprehensive Plan, and the Civil Works Strategic Plan.

Viable Future for the Nation

Our vision for the nation’s future is comprehensive, multiple basin water resource engineering solutions that are developed with broad based, regularly scheduled interest and stakeholder participation.  The MRC envisions: 

Inland navigable waterways that are adequately prepared to survive and compete in the ever-changing global economy

Comprehensive solutions to flooding that save lives, relieve human suffering, and reduce financial losses in the six major basins that drain 41 percent of the continental United States and two provinces of Canada

Development and implementation of programs, based on objective scientific data, that work in harmony with nature’s laws while recognizing the vital economic realities of human needs.

The Mississippi River Commission, through the continuation of its tested and proven process of listening, inspecting, and partnering, will lead the Nation’s engineering solutions for river transportation infrastructure, flood damage reduction, and the environment.  The MRC helps shape federal policy by providing sound advice to the Administration, the Congress, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Navigation

We envision inland navigable waterways that are adequately prepared to survive and compete in the ever-changing global economy

Flood Control

We envision comprehensive solutions to flooding that save lives, relieve human suffering, and reduce financial losses in the six major basins that drain 41 percent of the continental United States and 2 provinces of Canada

Environmental

We envision the development and implementation of programs, based on objective scientific data, that work in harmony with nature’s laws while recognizing the vital economic realities of human needs.