News Release Manager

Corps begins Phase I floodfight activities along the White River near Des Arc, Arkansas

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Memphis District (CEMVM)
Published Feb. 19, 2025
IN THE PHOTO, Ed Dean and Josh Beam from our Geospatial Branch packed up their gear last Friday (March 1) and headed to Mound City, Illinois. They carried with them our new Department of Defense approved Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). They used this new technology to capture some aerial imagery of the Mound City Cofferdam. The Corps of Engineers put the cofferdam in place in July 2018 in order to replace the Mound City South culvert in the mainline Ohio River levee.

IN THE PHOTO, Ed Dean and Josh Beam from our Geospatial Branch packed up their gear last Friday (March 1) and headed to Mound City, Illinois. They carried with them our new Department of Defense approved Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). They used this new technology to capture some aerial imagery of the Mound City Cofferdam. The Corps of Engineers put the cofferdam in place in July 2018 in order to replace the Mound City South culvert in the mainline Ohio River levee.

IN THE PHOTO, Elizabeth Burks, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, Memphis area deputy coordinator, measures a sand boil May 10. Burks is supporting the Memphis District’s floodfighting efforts and ensuring the levees perform as they were designed. The Corps of Engineers continues monitoring the levees as the waters reach historic levels not seen in more than 70 years. (USACE Photo/ Patrick Moes)

IN THE PHOTO, Elizabeth Burks, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District, Memphis area deputy coordinator, measures a sand boil May 10. Burks is supporting the Memphis District’s floodfighting efforts and ensuring the levees perform as they were designed. The Corps of Engineers continues monitoring the levees as the waters reach historic levels not seen in more than 70 years. (USACE Photo/ Patrick Moes)

IN THE PHOTO, Memphis District floodfighters, working with our local partners from the Cairo (Illinois) Drainage District, Alexander County Emergency Management, and Illinois Emergency Management Agency, yesterday (Feb. 21) installed and began operating a high capacity pump at Cottonwood Slough. This is located between the communities of Urbandale and Mound City, Illinois. 

The Corps of Engineers provided the 16-inch pump and local officials supplied a 310 horsepower tractor to drive it. The pump is removing interior water from the protected side of the levee resulting from heavy rains and backwater from Cache River and pumping it over the mainline levee and into the Ohio River. The Memphis District is today sending a portable Automatic Power Unit (APU) to the area to operate a second pump. Partnerships like this are a key element of every successful floodfight.

IN THE PHOTO, Memphis District floodfighters, working with our local partners from the Cairo (Illinois) Drainage District, Alexander County Emergency Management, and Illinois Emergency Management Agency, yesterday (Feb. 21) installed and began operating a high capacity pump at Cottonwood Slough. This is located between the communities of Urbandale and Mound City, Illinois. The Corps of Engineers provided the 16-inch pump and local officials supplied a 310 horsepower tractor to drive it. The pump is removing interior water from the protected side of the levee resulting from heavy rains and backwater from Cache River and pumping it over the mainline levee and into the Ohio River. The Memphis District is today sending a portable Automatic Power Unit (APU) to the area to operate a second pump. Partnerships like this are a key element of every successful floodfight.

The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has begun Phase I floodfight activities along the White River in Arkansas due to high river stages. The area of current flooding is along the White River near Des Arc, Arkansas.

During Phase I floodfight activities, USACE personnel deploy to the affected areas and monitor all federal flood control works including levees, flood walls and pumping stations. They will also continue to monitor rainfall amounts in the affected areas, and National Weather Service forecasts to determine if further action is warranted. USACE will deploy additional personnel and resources as required to help ensure the safety of life and property.

Material assistance may be provided with close coordination with State and Local authorities. Material assistance may include portable pumps to remove water from flooded areas, plastic sheeting to cover levees and help minimize levee slides and erosion, and sandbags. 

Citizens are strongly encouraged to stay in touch with their local authorities and emergency management officials for updates on conditions in their areas.

The USACE Division headquarters in Vicksburg, Mississippi coordinates all floodfight activities in the Mississippi Valley. The USACE Emergency Operations Center in Memphis directs all floodfight activities in its area of responsibility in conjunction with the affected states, levee districts and other local officials.

The Federal flood control works in the Mississippi Valley protect many thousands of homes, millions of lives, and vast tracts of fertile cropland. The Memphis District’s flood risk reduction system has prevented billions of dollars in flood damages and protected more than five million acres of cropland in the last decade alone.


Contact
Kenneth Williams
901-544-3360
kenneth.williams@usace.army.mil
167 N. Front St.
or
Jessica Haas
(901) 544-3348
jessica.m.haas@usace.army.mil
167 N. Front St.

Release no. 25-006