A very wet winter is bringing major spring flooding along the upper Mississippi River. In some communities, the floodwaters are among the top three on record. Though the water is expected to crest and start receding in most places by next week, its impacts will linger.
Mississippi River watershed communities like Bay City, Wisconsin are feeling the effects of environmental degradation. Advocates hope a proposed federal funding program, based on a successful initiative in the Great Lakes, could change this.
The report shows increasingly wetter conditions in the Upper Mississippi over the past few decades, a trend that — spurred by climate change and land-use practices — looks likely to continue.
