During the spring and summer of 2026, two undergraduate students supported the Mississippi River Watershed Partnership (MRWP) through two research projects connected to the Partnership’s Roadmap actions. One explored where water quality efforts are currently underway across the Upper Mississippi River Basin; the other investigated how flood risk information is communicated to communities in the Lower Mississippi River Watershed.
Mapping Water Quality Efforts Across the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Tate Severs, a student at Saint Louis University, worked with Dr. Jason Knouft to support one of the MRWP roadmaps focused on improving water quality. This roadmap aims to identify areas in which water quality investments are needed by conducting a gap analysis of water quality actions across the basin. To do so, Tate began by developing an inventory of water quality actions across the Upper Mississippi River basin, organizing efforts into three categories: monitoring & data collection, analysis, and implementation.
This initial inventory provides a foundation for understanding where water quality activities are taking place and where additional information may be needed. By bringing together geographically referenced efforts across the basin, we hope to help partners move from broad strategies toward more targeted conversations about research, coordination, investment and implementation.
Following conversations that took place during the River Connections meeting in New Orleans, Dr. Knouft developed a series of recommendations that build on the initial inventory by looking beyond simply cataloging water quality actions. These next steps will include developing a more purpose-driven framework for identifying and interpreting information, data, and implementation gaps related to nutrients and water quality across the Upper Mississippi River basin and beyond. These next steps will be used by the future water quality committee to make informed decisions on how to proceed with this roadmap.
Understanding Flood Risk Communication in the Lower Mississippi River Watershed
Lily House, a Tulane University student and Gulf Scholar, worked with America’s Watershed Initiative to conduct a literature review examining current research on communicating flood risks to at-risk communities in the lowermost Mississippi River Watershed.
Her research reviewed existing flood risk communication tools and approaches, with a focus on communities in Jefferson, St. Bernard, Orleans, and Plaquemines parishes in Louisiana. The review found that no single communication method is likely to reach every population effectively. Instead, research points to the importance of using multiple communication channels, building trust through transparent and two-way communication, and actively sharing information rather than relying on individuals to seek it out.
The review also identified areas where additional research could help improve flood risk communication, including providing more hyper-local and individualized information, better understanding the needs of different populations, and identifying which combinations of communication methods are most effective for different communities. This work will serve as a foundation for another MRWP roadmap focused on reducing flood and drought risks in the basin.
Connecting Research to Action
Both projects demonstrate the value of connecting students with real-world watershed challenges. Their work contributes to the broader goal of the MRWP: building shared understanding, identifying opportunities for coordination, and helping partners move from broad watershed challenges toward actionable opportunities.
Research like this also illustrates that progress on the Partnership’s roadmaps does not happen through any single project or organization. Instead each effort builds a foundation for the next question, the next conversation, and the next step toward coordinated action across the watershed.