® VALUE TO THE NATION

US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS  MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DIVISION  BUILDING STRONG®

INTRODUCTION

As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has done for more than 200 

years, the civil works program continues to provide value to the 

nation by delivering sustainable solutions to meet the water 

resource requirements. 

The Mississippi Valley Division is responsible for the Corps water 

resources programs within 370,000-square miles of the Mississippi 

River Valley. The division boundary encompasses the entire 

Mississippi River from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to the Gulf of 

Mexico, and includes all or parts of 

12 states: Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri, 

Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, 

Minnesota, North Dakota and 

South Dakota.

The mission of the division is to 

serve the Mississippi Valley region 

by providing vital public engineering services 

and stewardship of water resource infrastructure, 

partnering in peace and war, to strengthen our nation’s security, 

energize the economy and reduce risks from disasters.

250+ tributaries drain into the Mississippi River, the largest of 

which are the Ohio and Missouri rivers. The 1.25 million-squaremile Mississippi River drainage basin gathers water from 41 

percent of the continental United States. This includes all or parts 

of 31 states and two Canadian provinces.

NAVIGATION

• 4,267 miles of commercial waterways

 11 Inland Waterway systems

 19 other waterway systems

 1/3 of U.S. inland waterways

 Moves 47% of U.S. inland waterborne commerce

• 669 million tons of cargo move on the Mississippi River system 

each year

• Main Commodities: petroleum & petroleum products, crude 

materials, food & farm products, chemicals and related products, 

primary manufactured goods, and coal

• 7 deep-draft ports 

• 51 shallow-draft ports

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• $6.2 billion in domestic transportation savings

• 62 locks:

 29 on the Mississippi River

 8 on the Illinois River

 6 on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, LA

 5 on the Red River, LA

 4 on the Ouachita & Black Rivers, AR & LA

 1 on the Kaskaskia River, IL

 1 at Old River, LA

 1 at Bayou Teche, LA

 3 in the Atchafalaya Basin, LA

 1 at Freshwater Bayou, LA

 3 on West Pear River, LA

BUDGET AND MANPOWER

• Total Division-wide employees: 4,503 

• Division headquarters employees: 120 

• FY 2017/18 Supplemental Program: $2.975 billion

• FY 2019 Appropriations: $1.42 billion

• FY 2020 President’s Budget: $795.5 million

FLOOD DAMAGE REDUCTION

• 36 flood control reservoirs:

 3 in Arkansas

 4 in Mississippi

 5 in Illinois

 2 in Missouri

 3 in Iowa

 2 in North Dakota

 3 in Louisiana

 1 in Wisconsin

 13 in Minnesota

• 59 pumping stations (MR&T)

• 400 drainage structures

• ~8,400 miles of levee (3,486 miles MR&T)

• 143 miles of foreshore protection (MS River)

• 700 miles of wing dams

• 1,144 miles of revetment (MS River)

• 326 miles of rock dikes (MS River)

• $1.27 trillion cumulative damages prevented (MR&T)

• $206.5 billion damages prevented in 2018 (MR&T)

HYDROPOWER

• 4 Corps plants produce 226.5 MW of power:

 Clarence Cannon Dam on the Salt River at Monroe City, Mo.

 Narrows Dam on the Little Missouri River at Murfreesboro, Ark.

 Blakely Mountain Dam on the Ouachita River near Mountain 

Pine, Ark.

 DeGray Dam on the Caddo River near Arkadelphia, Ark.

• 8 non-federal plants (4 private, 4 municipal) at Corps dams on 

Mississippi & Illinois rivers provide 395 megawatts of power.

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RECREATION

• 2+ million acres

• 46 lakes

• 875 recreation areas 

• 3,627 picnic sites 

• 11,775 camping sites 

• 304 playgrounds 

• 112 swimming areas 

• 397 number of trails 

• 1,161 trail miles 

• 563 boat ramps 

• 11,743 marina slips

• $986 million in visitor spending 

• 27+ million visitors annually

ENVIRONMENTAL

In all aspects of natural and cultural resources management, the Corps 

promotes awareness of environmental values and adheres to sound environmental 

stewardship, protection, compliance and restoration practices. Environmental 

sustainability and watershed approaches are central to the ecosystem restoration 

mission of the Corps. Project impacts on the environment are identified and a 

sustainable balance of environmental, economic, social and engineering factors is 

sought. 

The division houses the National Ecosystem Restoration Planning Center of 

Expertise. It provides services to the nation including environmental training, 

agency technical review, independent external peer review, environmental model 

certification, as well as supporting ecosystem research and development needs. 

Center resources include virtual team members from around the nation including 

Corps staff, non-government organizations, universities and other state and federal 

agencies.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

2019 Flood events (through June)

• Emergency Operation Centers of all six MVD districts were activated with 1,200+ team members engaged.

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters, the Corps’ Southwest, Northwest and Great Lakes & Ohio River 

divisions, and the U.S. Coast Guard provided support.

• For the Mississippi River valley, the event was a top 4 flood of record. The New Orleans District’s Emergency 

Operations Center has been activated for 240 days, with 133 days of 24/7 operations (as of July 2) – its 

longest flood of record, to date.

• Including the National Flood Fight Materiel Center, nearly $17.5 million in Flood Control and Coastal Erosion 

funding was provided due to the duration of the event.

• The Corps provided: 4.7 million sand bags, 1,200+ rolls of 

poly, 108 pumps and more than 20,000 linear feet of 

HESCO bastion to local communities.

• For the first time ever, this event required operation of the 

Bonnet Carré spillway twice in one year. The structure was 

opened Feb. 27 for 44 days, and again May 10 for 53 days 

(as of July 2), and counting.

• Many gage locations set new consecutive-days-above-floodstage records with most breaking the 1927 flood records.

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  1400 Walnut Street, Vicksburg, MS 39180  www.mvd.usace.army.mil

July 2019

CONTACT

INFORMATION

USACE

Mississippi Valley Division

P.O. Box 80

Vicksburg, MS 39181-0080

(601) 634-5757

USAED, St. Paul

Army Corps of Engineers Centre

190 Fifth Street East

St. Paul, MN 55101-1638

(651) 290-5200

USAED, Rock Island

Clock Tower Building

P.O. Box 2004

Rock Island, IL 61204

(309) 794-4200

USAED, St. Louis 

1222 Spruce Street

St. Louis, MO 63103-2833

(314) 331-8002

USAED, Memphis

167 N. Main Street

Memphis, TN 38103-1894

(901) 544-3348

USAED, Vicksburg

4155 Clay Street

Vicksburg, MS 39183

(601) 631-5000

USAED, New Orleans

P.O. Box 60267

New Orleans LA 70160

(504) 865-1121

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