NEW YORK, NEW YORK (September 25, 2019) — Mayor Bob Gallagher of Bettendorf, Iowa, is representing the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative for a series of meetings during in New York during UN Climate Week, including speaking at the Sustainable Innovation Forum in New York September 25.

In New York, Mayor Gallagher, MRCTI Co-Chair, will be strategizing with and speaking to global investors, municipal-bond leaders, and international corporations to share how the most important river valley in the world to commodities can be sustained.

MRCTI conversations will focus on how cities along a critical economic corridor — the Mississippi River — are preparing for increasing climate-related impacts through socially-equitable natural-infrastructure solutions.

The flood of 2019 was historic in two respects — its scope and duration. This event was basin-wide, implicating not just the Mississippi River main-stem ten-state corridor, but much of the Mississippi River’s 31-state basin, including the Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas, and Red Rivers.

Some communities in the south have endured nearly 270 days of continuous flood fighting. From initial inspection, cities are looking at an estimated impact of over $2 billion in damage for the Mississippi River corridor and costs north of $4 billion for the larger basin.

The Mayors of MRCTI are pursuing three areas of solvency in the wake of the 2019 flood to achieve climate-mitigation — resources, data, scale.

 

The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) was created to provide an influential voice for the Mississippi River, dramatically increasing demand for effective river protection, restoration, and management in Washington DC. It addresses matters of mutual concern, including river-water quality and habitat restoration, flooding and floodplain issues, river-focused recreation, sustainable economies, and celebration of the River culture and history.

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