By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha commander says the Corps took a different approach to rebuilding a major levee breached by Missouri River floodwaters in 2019, an approach which could prove to be a model for future projects.
Colonel Mark Himes says the Corps listened when local officials and residents suggested not rebuilding the levee near Corning as it was before the 2019 flood, but moving it a bit.
“We created a very large setback, which created more space, more conveyance for the river to flow, particularly at flood stages,” Himes tells St. Joseph Post.
Federal regulations prevent the Corps from improving flood-damaged levees, allowing the Corps only to restore levees to pre-flood conditions.
Himes says the Corps used a bit of creativity when rebuilding Levee 536, located near the Holt-Atchison County line.
“But in this case, we were actually able to use a lower cost alternative which is what the setback allowed us to do,” according to Himes. “So, it’s essentially the same levee built back at a lower cost, which is why we were able to do that under the public law 84-99 program.”
The Corps used other innovations.
A reimbursable contract allowed the contractor to begin work immediately. Dredge from the Missouri River was used as material in the rebuild, which the Corps estimates saved millions of dollars. Work continued throughout the winter, pausing only briefly during the bitterly cold spell in February.
It is that setback, moving the levee farther away from the Missouri River channel that the Corps hopes will keep floodwaters from breaching the levee again.
“The levee is structurally the same. So, it’s built with the resiliency to stand up to a flood such as 2019,” Himes says. “The difference is the setback, right, giving more room for the river to flow through that particular section.”
It is hoped that when the Missouri River floods again, and it will flood again, that floodwaters will pool in the setback, taking pressure off the levee.
Himes has heard Gov. Mike Parson say the L-536 project can be used as a model.
“I think it’s a model in the sense of the teamwork, the collaboration, the ability to think outside the box and try different things,” Himes says. “I think that is certainly a model that we and other agencies are looking to replicate.”
The 2019 flood destroyed the Missouri River levee system, flooding millions of acres of farmland, destroying homes and businesses all along the river. When the L-536 failed, tens of thousands of acres of northwest Missouri farmland went under water.
The Omaha district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction down to Atchison County in Missouri.
