US Army Corps of Engineers

BUILDING STRONG®

America’s Great Watershed InitiativeMajor General John PeabodyPresident, Mississippi River CommissionCommander, Mississippi Valley Division

St. Louis, Missouri

September 27, 2012

BUILDING STRONG®

We recognize that there are no trivial occurrences in life if we get the right focus on them.

- Mark Twain's Autobiography

BUILDING STRONG®

41% of U.S. drainage flows through the body

of the nation

World’s 3rd Largest Watershed

4

BUILDING STRONG®

Global Agricultural Zones and the Basis for US Greatness

BUILDING STRONG®

U.S. Ports: Vital to Tradeand our National Economy

• NMillionTons

Over 100

50 - 100

25 - 50

10 - 25Houston

Corpus ChristiS. Louisiana

New Orleans

Baton Rouge

Texas City

Lake Charles

PlaqueminesTampa

New York/NJ

Valdez

Long Beach

Beaumont

Lower DelawareRiver (9 harbors)

Duluth/Superior

Los Angeles

Port Arthur

St. Louis

Portland

Seattle

Freeport

Huntington

Richmond

Oakland

Tacoma

Boston

Hampton Roads

Port Everglades

Jacksonville

Memphis

Detroit

Cleveland

SavannahCharleston

Indiana Hbr

Cincinnati

Portland

Two Harbors

Anacortes

Honolulu

Chicago Pittsburgh

Baltimore

Pascagoula

IMTS is a distribution system for coastal ports…

Toledo

Mobile

Matagorda

Kalama

Barbers Pt

• Nearly 12,000 miles 9 ft & over

• 196 lock sites / 241 chambers

• Moving over 600 million tons

• Carries 18% of Nation’s inter-city freight at a cost of 2/3 that of rail and 1/10 of truck

BUILDING STRONG®

2011

1927

1927 Flood = 16.8 M acres (Challenge)

2011 Flood = 6.35 M acres (Response)

$112 B damages prevented - $487 B since 1928 - 34 to 1 ROI

$7 B in crop damages prevented

4.5 million people protected

$3B Annual Transportation Rate Savings

1927 vs. 2011 Mississippi River Record Flood: From “Levees Only” to “Room for the River”

BUILDING STRONG®

Mississippi River Low Water: 2012

BUILDING STRONG®

Mississippi River Flood of 2011Supplemental Appropriations:Dredging, Ports and Harbors

• Authorized Purpose: Remove flood-induced sediment from channels, ports and harbors

• FY12 MR&T and O&M Appropriation for Channels and Harbors = $143 million (surveys and minimal dredging)

• 56 of the approved 253 Supplemental Project Repair Items for Dredging: Est. cost $214 million

• Biggest Impact: Available funds for harbor dredging

BUILDING STRONG®

Class 1 Class 2 Class 3a Class 3b Class 40

10

20

30

40

50

60

8

25

49

17

55

2

20

6

17

27

0

8

0

15

4

FS 2013 FS 2014 Post FS 2014

FS14 – 7229%

FS13 – 15461%

# It

ems

Sch

edu

led

Schedule to Substantially Complete by Flood Season

Post FS14 – 2710%

2011 Flood Damage Repair Plan – Current Status

as of September 6, 2012

253 Total Repair Items

13 September 201210

BUILDING STRONG®

Lockport video

Insert icon here

11

BUILDING STRONG®

Armored surface

Unarmoredsurface

Multiple areas where sheet piles are failing or near failure

NB entrance to auxiliary chamber

NB entrance to main chamber

Failure point

Vicinity of Normal water line

Emergency Repairs L/D 27: St. Louis District

BUILDING STRONG®

MVD Civil Works Funding Trend ComparisonInvestigations, Construction and O&M

(Regular Appropriations )

$ M

illio

ns

(Co

ns

tan

t 2

01

2 $

’s)

BUILDING STRONG®

NHC CONSENSUS ADV34 Peak Surge Entire Simulation

ft. NA

VD

88

BUILDING STRONG®Track rack damage

LaPlace Flooding

Hurricane Isaac ImpactsLouisiana

Lafitte, South Louisiana

Potential Loss: 1,750 sq. mi. over next 50 years Largest Port Complex in US:

► 60% of Agricultural products► 22% of Energy capacity

Largest Fishery in the Lower 48

The Nation is Experiencing a Coastal Crisis in Louisiana

Predicted Land Change Over Next 50 Years

BUILDING STRONG®

Challenge and (Provisional) Response Gather insights and lessons

from the Past

Identify Challenges, Provisional Responses, and Longer Term Impacts

Build a Vision for the Future

BUILDING STRONG®

Value of Partners Strength in Diversity

Leverage Resources

Broader Thinking

Survivability

Variety of Solutions

Multiple level commitment

Innovation

Upper Mississippi River Basin Association

Expanding Opportunities. Delivering Results.

BUILDING STRONG®

Regional Memoranda

of Understanding

The Nature Conservancy (2004)

Great Lakes and Ohio River Division & Mississippi Valley Division: Section 519 (2004)

Sand County Foundation (2005)

American Land Conservancy (2005)

Northwestern Division & Mississippi Valley Division: Pallid Sturgeon (2008)

National Audubon Society (2009)

LMRCC (2010)

NGRREC (2010)

Forest Service (2010)

Dubuque & New Orleans Aquariums (2011)

Natural Resources Conservation Service (2011)

Bass Pro Shops (2012)

BUILDING STRONG®

“Efforts to sustain the Mississippi River system will require a unified vision and

intergenerational commitment to realize that vision.”

BUILDING STRONG®

Our people enjoy a quality of life unmatched in the world. We ...

Lead secure lives along the river or tributary.

Enjoy fresh air and the surrounding fauna, flora, and forests while hunting, fishing and recreating.

Travel easily, safely and affordably.

Drink from and use the abundant waters of any river, stream or aquifer.

Choose from an abundance of affordable basic goods and essential supplies that are grown, manufactured and transported along the river to local and world markets.

Our people enjoy a quality of life unmatched in the world. We ...

Lead secure lives along the river or tributary.

Enjoy fresh air and the surrounding fauna, flora, and forests while hunting, fishing and recreating.

Travel easily, safely and affordably.

Drink from and use the abundant waters of any river, stream or aquifer.

Choose from an abundance of affordable basic goods and essential supplies that are grown, manufactured and transported along the river to local and world markets.

Leveraging local citizen and partner input, international dialogue, science, engineering, technology, and public policy

Leveraging local citizen and partner input, international dialogue, science, engineering, technology, and public policy

Balancing Nation’s needs for:

National security & flood damage reduction

Environmental sustainability & recreation

Infrastructure & energy

Water supply & water quality

Movement of goods: agriculture & manufacturing

The Mississippi watershed is 41% of the United States, encompassing 31 states, 1.25 million square miles,

more than 250 tributaries

The Mississippi watershed is 41% of the United States, encompassing 31 states, 1.25 million square miles,

more than 250 tributaries

join the dialogue … visit www.mvd.usace.army.mil/mrc or email cemvd-ex@usace.army.mil

join the dialogue … visit www.mvd.usace.army.mil/mrc or email cemvd-ex@usace.army.mil

America’s Watershed: A 200-year working visionAn Intergenerational Commitment

America’s Watershed: A 200-year working visionAn Intergenerational Commitment

BUILDING STRONG®

Homework: Kickoff the Mississippi River Watershed Visioning Campaign

1. What would you change about the current 200 year working vision?

2. Which elements of the vision statement are your top 2 priorities?

3. What would you be willing to compromise on to advance more permanent (and collaborative) solutions to achieve “integrated water resource management” in the basin?

HOMEWORK REQUIREMENT RULES:• BE BOLD• THINK LONG TERM (GEOLOGIC TIME)• TAKE OWNERSHIP OF OTHERS’ ISSUES

BUILDING STRONG®

My Brother’s Computer

A Dream is Just a Dream …

A Goal is a Dream with a Plan and a Schedule

Douglas L. Peabody, 1959-2012

BUILDING STRONG®

… and Other Concluding Thoughts

Some Take-aways from Yesterday:• LISTEN-- Commitment to Compromise and Consensus• POSSIBILITIES (Imagination): Planning, Patience, Persistence

PERFECT is the Enemy of the Great …• Great is the Enemy of the Good …• Good is the Enemy of the POSSIBLE …

• Challenges (Provisional) Solutions CONSEQUENCES• Resist the Temptation to “Organize” (Bureaucratize)

“A Society grows Great when Old Men plant Trees whose Shade they Know they shall Never sit under”

Ancient Greek Proverb

BUILDING STRONG®US Army Corps of Engineers

BUILDING STRONG®

What will be Your Legacy?

BUILDING STRONG®

Build recognition among regional and national leaders Establish an enduring, public-private facilitating entity to

connect existing institutions and stakeholders and harness the best science

Develop and report on measures that indicate progress toward achieving sustainable management

Elevate local and regional projects that demonstrate effective collaboration and integrated strategies

Network with river commissions and similar entities in North America and global

Knowledge and best practices related to the management of large rivers and watersheds.