Global InformationMS Mitch Mitchell Floodway information
| MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway | |
|---|---|
 Upstream view of the Floodway from Central Avenue in west Wichita | |
| Location | Wichita, Kansas |
| Country | United States |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 18 miles (29 km) |
| Maximum height above sea level | 1,313 ft (400 m) |
| Minimum height above sea level | 1,234 ft (376 m) |
| History | |
| Current owner | City of Wichita, Kansas |
| Principal engineer | M. S. “Mitch” Mitchell |
| Date approved | June 22, 1936 |
| Construction began | May 1950 |
| Date completed | March 1959 |
| Geography | |
| Start point | Little Arkansas River in north Wichita, Kansas |
| End point | Arkansas River near Derby, Kansas |
| Beginning coordinates | 37°44′57″N 97°21′40″W / 37.74917°N 97.36111°W |
| Ending coordinates | 37°33′06″N 97°17′09″W / 37.55167°N 97.28583°W |
The MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway, formerly the Wichita-Valley Center Floodway and known locally as “The Big Ditch”, is a canal in Wichita, Kansas, United States.[1] Built in the 1950s after a series of floods in the preceding decades, the Floodway diverts water from Chisholm Creek, the Little Arkansas River, and the Arkansas River to the west, around central Wichita, before emptying back into the Arkansas downstream of the city.[2]
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway
- ^ Guilliams, David (1998). "The Big Ditch: The Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project". Fairmount Folio. Wichita State University. pp. 29–40. Retrieved 2019-06-04.