Dan Miller and Sean O’Brien fear the economic impact of a plan to heighten some Mississippi River levees while others are left alone.
Miller is presiding commissioner in Pike County and O’Brien holds the same position in Lincoln County.
Both areas have experienced tremendous development in the last two decades.
Both also have had to deal with the two worst floods in history.
Commissioners of the two counties are hosting a regional forum on the levee-raising plan.
It’s from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Pike County Fairgrounds along U.S. 54 just east of the U.S. 61 intersection at Bowling Green.
The levee-raising plan has been endorsed by the Mississippi River Commission.
It calls for heightening all but 20 of 140 levees to 500-year flood levels last seen in 1993. Most are between Saverton and St. Louis.
Supporters acknowledge water levels downstream from improved berms would go up, but their studies show the increases would not cause widespread damage.
Opponents are highly skeptical of the studies and say damage to the agricultural, industrial, residential and transportation sectors would be greater than in 1993 and 2008.
“We’d like to be treated the same as other counties,” O’Brien said. “We want to make sure that our levees are raised.”
“I hope we’re able to delay this plan until Pike and Lincoln counties are satisfied with how we’re being treated,” Miller said. “We don’t want to be a dumping ground for all this water.”
In an invitation letter for the forum, commissioners say the plan “holds much promise for most areas, but could cause huge amounts of damage to the crops, livestock, homes and businesses in the eastern part of Pike, Lincoln and St. Charles counties.”
Mike Klingner is a Quincy, Ill., engineer with extensive experience in river studies worldwide. He is a member of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association, which has endorsed the plan.
Klingner said the proposal is not set in stone and there is room for it to be “fine-tuned.”
The key, he said, will be regional cooperation, because Congress won’t authorize funding if there isn’t agreement on both sides of the river.
“If we don’t work together on this, nothing is going to happen,” Klingner said. “The goal is to convey a major flood through the (Mississippi River) valley without major damage.”
Klingner said the idea is to direct floodwaters away from developed areas much the way it’s been done on the river south of St. Louis.
River width restrictions and geographic factors played a part in choosing the areas where levee-raising was not recommended.
The plan calls for a combination of federal, state and local funding to upgrade berms in levee districts that want to make improvements.
Not all of the levees would be raised because some districts could not afford the local match.
For areas with no improvements, the plan calls for flood easements so that canals and other flood-control measures could be installed, with the federal government footing most of the bill.
The proposal also recommends building or heightening levees around towns.
Supporters are seeking Congressional approval and funding. Work is under way on language that could be included in a bill to finance preliminary work.
|
|
|
Dan Miller and Sean O’Brien fear the economic impact of a plan to heighten some Mississippi River levees while others are left alone.
Miller is presiding commissioner in Pike County and O’Brien holds the same position in Lincoln County.
Both areas have experienced tremendous development in the last two decades.
Both also have had to deal with the two worst floods in history.
Commissioners of the two counties are hosting a regional forum on the levee-raising plan.
It’s from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Pike County Fairgrounds along U.S. 54 just east of the U.S. 61 intersection at Bowling Green.
The levee-raising plan has been endorsed by the Mississippi River Commission.
It calls for heightening all but 20 of 140 levees to 500-year flood levels last seen in 1993. Most are between Saverton and St. Louis.
Supporters acknowledge water levels downstream from improved berms would go up, but their studies show the increases would not cause widespread damage.
Opponents are highly skeptical of the studies and say damage to the agricultural, industrial, residential and transportation sectors would be greater than in 1993 and 2008.
“We’d like to be treated the same as other counties,” O’Brien said. “We want to make sure that our levees are raised.”
“I hope we’re able to delay this plan until Pike and Lincoln counties are satisfied with how we’re being treated,” Miller said. “We don’t want to be a dumping ground for all this water.”
In an invitation letter for the forum, commissioners say the plan “holds much promise for most areas, but could cause huge amounts of damage to the crops, livestock, homes and businesses in the eastern part of Pike, Lincoln and St. Charles counties.”
Mike Klingner is a Quincy, Ill., engineer with extensive experience in river studies worldwide. He is a member of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association, which has endorsed the plan.
Klingner said the proposal is not set in stone and there is room for it to be “fine-tuned.”
The key, he said, will be regional cooperation, because Congress won’t authorize funding if there isn’t agreement on both sides of the river.
“If we don’t work together on this, nothing is going to happen,” Klingner said. “The goal is to convey a major flood through the (Mississippi River) valley without major damage.”
Klingner said the idea is to direct floodwaters away from developed areas much the way it’s been done on the river south of St. Louis.
River width restrictions and geographic factors played a part in choosing the areas where levee-raising was not recommended.
The plan calls for a combination of federal, state and local funding to upgrade berms in levee districts that want to make improvements.
Not all of the levees would be raised because some districts could not afford the local match.
For areas with no improvements, the plan calls for flood easements so that canals and other flood-control measures could be installed, with the federal government footing most of the bill.
The proposal also recommends building or heightening levees around towns.
Supporters are seeking Congressional approval and funding. Work is under way on language that could be included in a bill to finance preliminary work.
