Flooding Impacts the Wolf River Greenway

The historic flooding that occurred at the beginning of April affected many communities across the Mid-South, damaging property in unprecedented ways. The Wolf River Greenway has been no exception. Despite being built to withstand normal flooding conditions, the Greenway trail was  damaged by bank erosion in East Memphis.  There were also mud and silt deposits left behind by receding waters along the length of the trail.  

Our partners at the City of Memphis maintain the trail with a dedicated crew, but the nature of this year's flooding has led to significant and dangerous riverbank erosion damage that has gone beyond a typical clean up. The Wolf River Conservancy is assisting the City in marshalling resources, connecting with additional partners and developing a plan to bring the Greenway back to the beautiful condition we all know, love and expect.  We thank you for your patience.

What to expect on affected sections:

Greenway East: The City is planning to have its street sweeper trucks on the trail within the next two weeks to clean silt and mud from the asphalt. There will be intermittent closure of the trail to accommodate these vehicles while they are cleaning. The City has also installed fencing around the eroded areas of the riverbank that have created a sheer face next to the Greenway. Please use caution if you are walking or biking past these areas. The Wolf River Conservancy is engaging with FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to determine the best path forward to safely reestablish the banks of the Wolf River at these eroded points.  

Mud Island: Due to rainfall north of Memphis, there is significant pressure down the Mississippi River that has caused the Wolf River to rise and flood much of its surrounding area downtown. The lower part of the North Mud Island section of the Wolf River Greenway is currently underwater and a cleanup assessment will be conducted as soon as the water recedes to normal levels.

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