Matt Rota

The prediction of the largest ever Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico for this summer, released by LUMCON and LSU, is another harsh reminder that our country must work aggressively to clean up the Mississippi River.The solely voluntary mechanisms currently promoted to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorous pollution that cause the Dead Zone will […]

According to a stakeholders call today with the Corps, the Mississippi has crested in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Likewise, the River crested today in Vicksburg, MS and will crest tomorrow at Red River Landing, which is between the Old River Control Structure and the Morganza Floodway. Hopefully the River will start going down in

As bays are slowly opened at the head of the Morganza Floodway to manage Mississippi River flows, Louisiana residents in the Floodway are retreating from the rising floodwaters, like those in the Birds Point Floodway evacuated prior to the controlled demolition of levees in Southeast Missouri. This raises the question: Why are we causing flooding

Even though the Mississippi River has crested in Memphis, we are going to see rising waters along the Atchafalaya River, due to the opening of the Morganza Floodway and high flows through the Old River Control Structure. Throughout Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, thousands of acres have been flooded and hundreds (if not thousands) of

The Mississippi River continues to rise in Louisiana, as do people’s concerns. As of today (1:00 pm), the Mississippi River has reached 17.08 ft. at the New Orleans gauge, and reports of small seeps in the levees, including along the French Quarter, have been reported.River Gauge at New Orleans this morningThe question weighing on everyone’s

On several occasions I’ve witnessed the awesome power of the Mississippi River; the most striking was the flood of 1993. At the time, I helped fill sand bags in an ultimately futile effort to save Valmeyer, IL, a small farming community down the bluff where I went to school.Now I am in New Orleans and

This article is excerpted from Wave Maker’s News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Gulf of Mexico, check out the full newsletter here.Floating down the Bogue Chitto River, one of Louisiana’s Outstanding Natural Resource Waters. Photo Courtesy of Bart Everson.Over the past few years, we have been working hard in Louisiana and

Some of our friends upriver are speaking out for the Gulf and the Dead Zone! The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago is one of the largest municipal sources of nitrogen and phosphorous pollution that pollutes local waters, as well as causes the Dead Zone in the Gulf every spring and summer. Despite

This article is excerpted from Wave Maker’s News, our quarterly update on all things water in the Gulf of Mexico, check out the full newsletter here. Proposed Mississippi River Diversion at Myrtle Grove, images Courtesy of USGS and State of LA.Folks working on Louisiana coastal restoration have recently been getting cautiously excited about a potential

Several weeks ago, before the holidays, I had the opportunity to fly over the Eastern Sand Berms (many thanks to SouthWings for providing the flight). This was an interesting flight, as it was my first look at the berms since the State of Louisiana changed its plans from creating “disposable” berms to trying to mimic