Mississippi river water quality is of paramount importance for sustaining the many uses of the river including drinking water, recreational and commercial activities, and support for the river s ecosystems and the environmental goods and services they provide. In 1976 a program to protect and responsibly develop the area was set up after years of pollution and landuse issues. The mississippi river system, one of the worlds largest river systems, flows from lake itasca to the gulf of mexico in the united states of america. A history of pollutants in the mississippi river mississippi park. The encyclopedia of arkansas history and culture provides an arkansasan perspective on the history of the river. The root of pollution for the mighty mississippi youtube. Some fifteen thousand years ago, the majestic river provided paleolithic humans with the routes by which early man began to explore the continents interior. Louisiana river road runs along plantations, churches and jails that encapsulate the history of the area. The mississippi has many large tributaries, or rivers that flow into it. The twoyear study, released wednesday by the minnesota pollution control agency mpca, is the first comprehensive look at the health of the upper mississippi. Heritage museum in clarksdale, mississippi has information about the river and the people of the region. We speak with robert shimek of the indigenous environmental network about the toxic pollution of the mississippi river with various industries using it as a sewer dump to get rise of dioxins. And incidentally of georgia and mississippi, from the earliest period by james albert pickett and james p. On it they paddled their cottonwood dugouts and their bark canoes, and from it they took the fish that.
Pdf historical perspectives on water pollution in the baltic sea. Mississippi river history, physical features, culture. The mississippi river is known as the middle mississippi from the upper mississippi river s confluence with the missouri river at st. Pollution on the mississippi river environmental studies. The fight to keep the mississippi river clean and natural. An environmental history of the mississippi and its. Jul 10, 2016 this mississippi river corridor critical area is a 72mile stretch of land that runs along the mississippi river through the metro area. And incidentally of georgia and mississippi, from the earliest period. Current agricultural practices lead to nutrient loading and in turn to eutrophication.
Across the 15 states that comprise the ohio river basin alabama, georgia. This book is a comprehensive case study of a single large river in india, the yamuna, and of the large cities, including delhi, that pollute the river. The mississippi missouri river combined is 3,709 miles or 5,969 km. The pristine, clear mississippi river flows from lake itasca towards the twin cities, but once it enters the metro area, it is no longer the same river flowing from that lake. The mississippi was the primary transportation and trade route into and through the central part of the continent. Essential books to read about mississippi river history, fiction, poetry, engineering and the environment, guidebooks, travelogues, and art. Learning from environmental history in the baltic countries. Agricultural runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution in the united states. We keep putting waste where we drink, said steve johnson who grew up on the mississippi in brooklyn park. The increase of population and activity in the yamuna watershed is placing increasingly exigent demands upon its ecology. This book concludes that too little coordination among the 10 states along the river has left the mississippi river an orphan from a water quality monitoring and.
The delhi and yamuna sound unfamiliar, although the river is the main source of water supply to the city and plays most crucial role in its growth. The state of the river report provides a concise snapshot of the health of the mississippi river. The mississippi river in north american history schneider, paul on. Louis, missouri, for 190 miles 310 km to its confluence with the ohio river at cairo, illinois.
It is bordered by alabama e, the gulf of mexico s, arkansas and louisiana, with most of that border formed by the mississippi river w, and tennessee n. The mississippi river lies entirely within the united states. Today many know it as the mississippi national river and recreation area. Mississippi river watershed essay 795 words bartleby. Oct 28, 2014 old man river, paul schneiders exploration of americas great waterway. Based upon a broad range of water quality and other river data, the report zooms in on the status and trends of key indicators of river health, highlighting the swimming, fishing, aquatic life and emerging contamination issues facing the river. That includes more than 900,000 metric tons of nutrient pollution. I live in close proximity to the mississippi river and impacted by its pollution and its culture. Cities have been known by the rivers that flow nearbylandon and thames, rome and the traverse, paris and seince, banaras and ganga. A fascinating account of how the mississippi river shaped america. As its respectful indian name indicates, the mississippi played an important role in the lives of the aboriginal peoples settled on its banks. List of books and articles about mississippi river online.
On the other hand, this is a very unique level of pollution, distinct from that of the. Water quality in the mississippi river mississippi national. A brief history of the mississippi river experience new. The ohio river basin the area of land that drains into the ohio river at any point spans 15 states and supports more than 27 million people, or 10% of the u. Clean up, and stop current and future pollution from entering the mississippi river. Efforts made by the government to regulate and prevent more pollution from entering the waterways has. The source of the mississippi is lake itasca in minnesota, near the border with canada. For kids who like boats, barges, and littleknown facts about this mighty giant, this issue has it all. The 2011 flood in the mississippi river and tributaries project.
Mar 31, 2016 ultimately, the pollution of the mississippi led public health to become a central concern, and the hydrosocial contract in the cities evolved through the 1938 opening of a sewage treatment plant for the twin cities region. Sintons book reconstructs the mill river history from the pleistocene to the. The mississippi river has a long human history, but its geographic history is even longer. Near record farm pollution found in mississippi river ewg.
The mississippi flows south through the middle of the united states. Aquatic science and marine biology can ultimately determine where particulates come from, but if the mississippi river study is of any indication, river pollution could have come from dam construction or agriculture very easily. Apr 05, 2017 water quality in the mississippi river continues to be an issue in minnesota. Report improving water quality in the mississippi river basin. These are the most important books about the mississippi.
Mississippi river pollution making floridas red tide even. To protect freshwater resources and reduce the dead zone in the gulf of mexico by advancing development of protective numeric nitrogen and phosphorus criteria in states and reducing nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the mississippi river basin. Song sittin on the dock of the bay 20 remaster artist otis redding. Mississippi river, the longest river of north america, draining with its major tributaries an area of approximately 1. Society requires artifice to survive in a region where nature might reasonably have asked a few more eons to finish a work of creation that was incomplete. To the native american peoples of the river, the mississippi was both highway and larder. The mississippi river, the primary river of north americas largest river system at the chain of rocks. Get ready to leap into the history, geography, and current dynamics of americas secondlongest stretch of water, the mississippi river. Jan 21, 2020 the missouri river, the longest river in the united states, the mississippi river, the second longest river in the united states, and jefferson river combine to form this system at a total length of 3,979 miles 6,352 km. The mississippi river played an important role in the lives of many native americans who lived in the upper mississippi valley, such as the santee dakota, the illinois, the kickapoo, and the ojibwe, as well as those tribes in the southern valley, such as the chicksaw, the choctaw, the tunica, and the natchez.
The mississippi river connection to the two red tide blooms is another sign of what an incredibly complex mechanism the earth is and also the unintended consequences of pollution. Jun 15, 2016 near record concentrations of farm pollution were measured flowing down the mississippi river in may, according to a recently published report the big rivers nitrogen concentration is nearing its highest level since 1997, when recordkeeping began. The missouri river will travel more than 2,300 miles before it joins the mississippi in its. Progress, challenges, and opportunities the clean water act has reduced much of the pollution in the mississippi river from point sources such as industries and water treatment plants, but problems stemming from. The mississippi river is a river in the united states. Mississippi river mississippi river history and economy. Sewage contamination of rivers in swedish and european cities, based on the ratio of sewage compared to the total amount of river water at different. To others, its been a way of life for hundreds of years, a winding soul that ushered in a dawning country atop its tumultuous current. Mississippi and rum river boom company, company records, 18681920. These are the most important books about the mississippi river. Environmental factors mississippi national river and. Humans have been impacting the river far longer than the recent past.
One of the main problems in attempts to regulate this type of pollution is that it is nonpoint source. Map of the missouri river and its tributaries innorth america just west of bozeman, montanawhere the gallatin, jefferson, and madison rivers converge at three forksamericas longest river is born. In old man river, paul schneider tells the story of the river at the center of americas rich historythe mississippi. It was the worst flooding epidemic in the history of the united states. Following an introduction to the river s ecology, geomorphology, and flow regime, the book focuses on pollutants and remediation of pollution in the river.
The mississippi river is, in many ways, the nations best known and most important river system. How the upper mississippi goes from pristine to polluted. The mississippi has been very important for transportation in the history of the united states. Where the crow river joins the mississippi, south of st. The hand of humankind is much in evidence on the mississippi, and weve left plenty of fingerprints over the last 150 years. Mississippi river water quality and the clean water act.
Mississippi river delta and galveston bay and if possible from tampa bay, to age date the cores by radiometric techniques to insure that they provide an undisturbed historical contaminant record, and to use them to provide high quality analytical data necessary to reconstruct the contamination history of these regions. List of books and articles about mississippi river. Agricultural runoff leaves the farms into the water system and ends up in the gulf of mexico. Summary mississippi river water quality and the clean water act. In 1938, the metro wastewater treatment plant was built to ensure clean drinking water for the public. Concrete channel of the mississippi river basin model overtaken by soil and vegetation in 2010. Two billion years ago, the geological activity that pushed up the. Mississippi river simple english wikipedia, the free. Agriculture in the mississippi river basin the photo above shows the tributaries, agricultural land, and urban centers connected to the mississippi river basin. Description and travel discovery and exploration geology great lakes north america indians of north america mississippi river mississippi river valley natural history new york state northwest, old ojibwa language sources united states. The name mississippi comes from a native american name that means big river. As the mississippi rushes southward toward the gulf, the river picks up a lot of passengers.