il fuel and nuclear electric generating plants, most of which depend upon fresh water for their manufacturing process, along both banks of the Mississippi River. Also, cities below Baton Rouge, including New Orleans, would be hard-pressed to find drinking water. The Atchafalaya Basin could not accept the Mississippi flow without massive flooding, extensive relocations, and the upheaval of the social and economic patterns of that area. A new route would render hundreds of millions of dollars worth of flood control projects useless along the lower Mississippi and expensive flood control projects would be required in the newly created Mississippi delta.4.) I think that the long term prospects for people to control the course of the Mississippi are good because it stopped the land being taken up by water and other catastrophic effects to the people and the land. It also gave the government a chance to build a hydroelectric power station which would benefit the people in the area. The power plant, operating in conjunction with the Old River Control Project, utilizes the difference in head between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers to produce electricity. The Corps adjusts daily the percentage of flow allocated to the power plant according to conditions of the Mississippi, Atchafalaya and Red rivers. This determined amount provides benefits to both projects without threatening flood control, navigation interests or ecological conditions. ...
