Operation Watershed ‐ Recovery

Responding to the Historic Mississippi River Flood of 2011

MR&T 2011 POST FLOOD EVALUATION

4

OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATIONS 

The PFR effort identified several key overarching recommendations for the MR&T System. These overarching 

recommendations capture the main themes of the many detailed recommendations developed through this effort: 

 Use the information from the PFR effort to inform repair of the MR&T System. Use 2011 MR&T 

System performance, damage, and risk assessment information developed through the PFR and other efforts 

to help establish appropriate repair processes. This includes efforts focused on improving levee resiliency, 

confirming level of protection, sharing best practices, and developing system repair plans using riskinformed decision making. 

 Use the information from the PFR effort to inform completion of the MR&T System.

Information from the PFR effort should be used to aid in the development of a plan to complete the 

remaining 11 percent of the MR&T System not yet constructed. Information that would provide insights 

into this include MR&T performance, changing river hydraulics, improved levee engineering, economics 

and associated risks, environmental and other stakeholder considerations. 

 Update Operation Plans/Manuals, Communications Plans, and SOPs using information from this 

PFR, external inputs, AARs, etc. Use information developed through the PFR effort, AARs, external 

inputs, and further studies to inform the update and enhancement of MR&T operation and flood fight 

plans/manuals, SOPs and regionally standardized communication plans. These efforts would focus on 

improving both internal and external MR&T related operations during major flood events and would 

involve refinement of existing processes and utilization of new technologies. Example efforts may include 

enhancing flood fight operations with newly developed tools and examining the potential need to update 

operations plans for key MR&T FRM structures. 

 Regionally standardize communication approaches and products with MR&T System floodway and 

backwater area stakeholders. Use feedback from stakeholders, lessons learned, best practices, and new 

technologies to develop regionally consistent communication approaches, tools and products to improve 

understanding, reduce impacts and improve collaboration during future floods. The Interagency Recovery 

Task Force offers great potential to make this a coordinated multi-agency effort. 

 Evaluate the need to conduct an updated flow line study for the MR&T System. Use 2011 hydraulic 

flood data and associated MR&T component performance to evaluate the need for an updated flow line 

study for the System. Physical and hydraulic changes in the river system and complex flow patterns at 

Morganza, Bonnet Carre, and the Old River Control Complex should be examined to determine if a change 

in flow line data or water control plans is warranted. 

 Coordinate a regional “triage” effort to prioritize, refine and implement the recommendations 

identified in the MR&T System Post Flood Report. The next steps in advancing the preliminary MR&T 

recommendations in this report will utilize the existing regional program management structure and process 

to further screen, combine, prioritize, refine, and develop detailed scopes for recommendation 

implementation. This process is vitally important due to the need to establish coordinated MR&T 

improvement, regional priorities, and because there is limited funding available to accomplish these tasks. 

Many of the recommendations developed through this effort are considered preliminary and have not yet been fully 

scoped or vetted. The next steps in their advancement will include further screening, regional prioritization, 

refinement, detailed scoping, and analysis. Some of the recommendations provided are already moving forward (e.g., 

BPNM operation assessment, examination of river flow changes, etc.) and will continue to be advanced. The process 

of implementing the PFR recommendations will result in improved performance of the MR&T System and further 

reduce flood risks within the Lower Mississippi River Valley.