1948 Press Photo Aerial View of the Flood Control Locks On the Mississippi River

Locaks Play a Big Role in flood control along the Mississippi. They are used to control the drainage of the land area along the river. In normal water stages the locks are opened and the drainage water of the surrounding area flows into the river. In high water time, the locks retain the water of the land area and hold it back from the river. This is the Plaquemine Lock on Bayou Plaquemine, at the entrance to the Mississippi. Harnessing the River. The work of the U.S. Engineers, just like the river they're trying to tame, "keeps rolling along." Today, 21 years since the federal government gave the Engineers the stupendous task of keeping the Mississippi River and its tributaries within its banks, the Engineers are still hard at work. Main projects today are the completion of the Morganza and East Atchafalaya floodways which will cost an estimated $1-- million, the $14 million job of erecting Red River backwater levees, the heightening of levees along the entire course of the Mississippi, and the construction of six dams in the Red River Water Shed. So far, Congress has appropriated $546 million for the work. The Engineers estimate that it will cost another $450 million. President Truman has asked COngress for $70 million this year.

Photo is dated 1948.

Photo measures 10 x 8.25 inches.