All eyes in our community have been focused on the Mississippi River of late and not just because of its normal beauty and the scenic vistas Natchez offers.

The recent focus has been the seasonal swelling that brings the Mississippi River to higher and higher levels, flooding low-lying areas and putting enormous pressure on protective levies around the area.

Fortunately, as the river crested Saturday at a little more than 57 feet on the Natchez river gauge, the immediate concerns will diminish.

But locals who are concerned about increasingly common high spring floods have valid points. With Saturday’s crest, four of the top five river levels have been observed in the last 10 years.

Some people argue the plans for how to control flooding need to be reconsidered and revised, including among other things diverting more of the Mississippi Rivers flow into the Atchafalaya River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the group tasked with managing the river, suggests its plans for controlling the river have worked well and continue to work.

Both sides have good points. The system has been working, but it also needs to be constantly reviewed and communicated to the people who live and work along the river.

We encourage both groups to work together to find either solutions to the “new normal” of higher river levels or to achieve better understanding of the current plans and find ways to improve those plans, if possible.