Mississippi River Pollution

• History, Causes, Effects of Pollution

1. Mississippi is 1.2million square miles making it the longest river in North America and the fourth-longest in the world. It is significant farmland and waterway coursing through 10 states. For a long time, upper Mississippi contributed to 25 % of the freshwater fishery. However, the river has massive human control, modification, and pollution(Tierney & McDowell, 1990).
2. The 1800 industrial revolution discarded factory wastes in the Mississippi River. In the 1930s, 144 million sewage and garbage galloons were dumped in the river daily leading to a typhoid outbreak. Pollutants from the farm’s fertilizers and chemicals are the leading causes of pollution today(“An Endangered River: The Mississippi River Gorge”, 2018).
3. Agricultural runoffs lead to increases in phosphorous, nitrates, and plastic pollution in the water. This results in eutrophication, which chokes marine life(Tierney & McDowell, 1990). Today the river is the principal source of Mississippi nitrates. Nitrates are associated with birth defects, cancer, and thyroid complications. In a 2010 report, over 12 million toxic chemicals associated with serious diseases were dumped in the river including,arsenic, mercury, and benzene.
4. Control and latest developments
5. In 2021, the Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative was instigated with the aim of developing strategies for cleaning the river. The initiative takes a collaborative effort in with local community. The recent efforts targets improving water quality from 6 to 8 in the next 10 years(Committee on the Mississippi River and the Clean Water Act& National Research Council, 2008)
6. The Clean Water Act has been instrumental in improving water quality. Federalism plays a critical role in developing laws to protect the environment. Agricultural being the leading cause of pollutions makes the cleaning more complex(Tierney & McDowell, 1990).Recentparties in the cleaning process are opting for ore collaborative means with agricultural companies.
7. Though millions of dollars have been used to clean up, there is still a huge measure of pollution. There is still a need for further research on the most suitable means of stopping this pollution (“An Endangered River: The Mississippi River Gorge”, 2018). Stronger leadership and coordination among the 10 states will be mandatory if the Mississippi river is to be cleaned.Nonetheless, the Mississippi River is cleaner today than it was 20 years ago (Committee on the Mississippi River and the Clean Water Act & National Research Council, 2008).

References

An Endangered River: The Mississippi River Gorge. (2018), 13-34. https://doi.org/10.24926/2471190x.4812

Committee on the Mississippi River and the Clean Water Act, & National Research Council. (2008). Mississippi River water quality and the Clean Water Act (1st ed., pp. 6-28). The National Academies Press.

Saikku, M. (2014). The Law and the Mississippi Basin: A Review of Mississippi River Tragedies. Southern Spaces, 45-67. https://doi.org/10.18737/m7cc8s