Congressman Ralph Abraham guest speaker at ORVA convention

Ouachita River Valley Association members met Thursday to discuss the future of the Ouachita River. ORVA officials say the Ouachita River is necessary for so many people in the area, and that's why dredging the river and fixing the Columbia lock are so important.

Congressman Ralph Abraham was a guest speaker at the event about the river's impact on the community. “This river matters to everyone, its economic impact is huge in the area of five to six billion dollars,” says Abraham, “it supplies tens of thousands of jobs in Arkansas and Louisiana."

The army corps of engineers say they'll be getting more money next year than they did this year, meaning they'll have the ability to fund more projects on the river.

Meanwhile, the ORVA director says they're working to fix the Columbia lock to keep river levels high enough. “One of the big issues we have right now is that is the Columbia lock, due to some seepage problems, is shut down,” says Rayford Wilbanks. “We're working hand in hand with the corps of engineers to get that fixed."