@flo But why would it need to be the size of whatever river is concerned? It would only be for the excess right?
Yes, you are correct, I was exaggerating (AKA wrong)
But it is not a surprise. For example, the Morganza spillway has been in the news. It was built for exactly this scenario. It was designed to flood the area which is being flooded.
The Mississippi is already an artificial channel. If the US Army Corps of Engineers were not wrangling the waters, the river would have bypassed New Orleans long ago and washed Morgan City into the sea.
I would love to read about it.
I think you might really love this book.
The Control of Nature by John Mcphee
McPhee’s bestselling account of places in the world where people have been engaged in all-out battles with nature. In Louisiana, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has declared war on the lower Mississippi River, which threatens to follow a new route to the sea and cut off New Orleans and Baton Rouge from the rest of the United States…