Army Corps of Engineers
19 June, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tenn – Eleven members of the Mekong River Commission were briefed on how management of operations on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers affect Mississippi River operations during their June 18-19, 2013 visit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District.
“The Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission operate under similar principles and mandates and we were honored to share through a technical exchange how management of operations on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers have a downstream effect on the Mississippi River,” said Lt. Col. James A. DeLapp, Nashville District commander.
The visit was part of a sister river partnership established May 12, 2010 by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission, after collaboration brokered by the U.S. State Department and the Nations of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
“The Mekong River Commission visited USACE headquarters in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Louisville Districts prior to coming to Nashville District, southernmost district in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division,” said Joanne Mann, executive assistant/congressional liaison, Nashville District.
The sister commissions share research, expertise and experiences related to how river systems adapt to climate change, water resource management and forecasting during floods and droughts, hydropower, managing competing demands for water use, navigation improvements, flood security, fish passage, wetlands restoration and maintaining water supply, according to the MOA.