Command-wide Recruitment and Outreach Materials MISSION AREA SUPPLEMENT – WATER RESOURCES
The original civil mission of the Corps of Engineers was to provide support to navigation. Where it exists, water transportation is cheapest mode of shipment for commodities such as coal, petroleum, farm products, and chemicals. Today the Corps maintains 12,000 miles of commercial waterways, serving 41 states and 131 of the nation’s largest cities and carrying one sixth of America’s intercity cargo. Corps personnel operate 235 locks along these waterways.