About Us
UPPER MISSISSIPPI, ILLINOIS & MISSOURI RIVER ASSOCIATION
The Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association or UMIMRA had formal beginnings in 1954 as the Upper Mississippi Flood Control Association.
It began as a loose network of levee and drainage districts between St. Louis and the Quad-Cities, working together to improve their levees. Over time, the Association expanded its geographic representation as people from south of St. Louis and the Illinois and Missouri Rivers joined the group. Prior to the Great Flood of 1993, the Association changed its name to the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association.
Closer cooperation with other regional groups led to affiliations with the Illinois Valley Flood Control Association and the Missouri Levee and Drainage District Association.
Since 1993, UMIMRA has grown on several fronts – to several hundred members, a diverse membership, and a wide range of issues dealt with by the Board of Directors.
The UMIMRA Board continues to be elected by members at an annual meeting.
At least four representatives from each state– Illinois, Iowa and Missouri – serve on the board. Diverse professional interests are also represented. What began as an organization to improve agricultural levees is now the only grassroots organization that is dedicated to rural and urban prosperity and environmental stewardship through wise development of river resources in the Upper Mississippi Valley.