Under a 2007 mandate from Congress, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a two-

Question

Under a 2007 mandate from Congress, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a two-year study, called the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, of the problem of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes via Chicago’s web of waterways. Asian carp are known as a “nuisance species” that quickly gobbles up the plankton, thereby threatening the food source of the sport fish in the lakes. Conservation groups want the Corps to block the access ways as quickly as possible, but sports fishers and commercial shipping companies worry that the impact of blocking the flow of the waterways will have on the lakes. The Corps’ 210-page study estimates the cost of blocking the waterways at $18 billion.

Explain what needs to be done under these circumstances and how the Corps should proceed.

(Michael Wines, “$18 Billion Price Put on Effort to Block Carp,” New York Times, January 7, 2014, p. A10.)

Explanation / Answer

Under the given circumstances, the state and the Corps should consider all the available options before taking the final decisions. Since the study has already been conducted and the costs associated with each decision are available, the Corps should go with the most economic as well as practical decision.

One must consider the fact that building a blockage for the waterways won't be a short-term decision. It would take at least two decades to block the flow of the waterways given the size of the water body. It can be easily inferred that during this time, the carp and other unwanted species would be able to bypass the existing barriers and move forward. In addition, the estimated cost for blocking the waterways is eighteen billion dollars.

Thus, other options must be considered instead of the blockage of waterways.

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