Following the completion of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway at 2:35 p.m. May 5, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said they will continue to monitor the floodway and fight rising waters along the Mississippi River watershed.
"This floodfight is not over," Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, Mississippi River Commission President, said. "We have hundreds of engineers working right now in the field fighting floods. Our goal is to reduce risk to people living behind our levees."
The completion of the floodway operation is part of a flood risk management plan for the Lower Mississippi River designed to minimize damage and save lives from historic flood levels. Its purpose is to lower flood stages and pressure on the entire system during major flood events.
This operation helped to ensure the stability of the third largest watershed in the world.
The Mississippi River drains 41 percent of the continental United States and many areas today are at historic levels and our fight does not end here.
The entire system is experiencing flooding, Walsh said, and the Corps of Engineers will work with federal, state and local organizations to reduce the risk of those living in high-water areas.
"Public safety is number one. I still don't think people don't understand the immensity of this flood," Walsh said. "The rain event we've had the past two weeks is 600 percent above normal."
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