By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A long-time observer of the Missouri River believes the Army Corps of Engineers has begun to change how it manages the river now that the right pressure has been applied.
Tom Waters of Orrick chairs the Missouri Levees and Drainage District Association. Waters says change began after governors from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa joined forces in demanding change.
“Since the 2019 flood, when the governors from four states got together and told the Corps we’ve got to do something different here, what they’ve been doing isn’t working,” Waters tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “And so those four governors coming together and then eight senators from those states talking to the Corps and saying we’ve got to move in a different direction. I think the Corps has listened.”
Since the four states banned together to ask for change, the Corps has been concentrating on points along the Missouri River that recurrently flood, often called choke points along the river. Floodwaters in 2019 spilled out in the same areas they had in 2011 and 1993, causing widespread damage to property and crops, disrupting transportation along I-29 and other major roadways; disrupting lives.
Waters credits officials from the four lower Missouri River states, who set aside regional interests and together asked the Corps of Engineers to reexamine its management as well as the flood prevention structures on the river.
“Isn’t that funny how four governors and eight senators can encourage the Corps to do a little better job of listening?” Waters jokes. “That’s what’s happening. They’ve really made a real effort to reach out to stakeholders and to talk to people and try to find ways to do some positive things. So, I’m encouraged.”
Waters says the Corps has already made changes to the Kansas City levees and has launched a feasibility study to address problems in Holt County, where the Corps is considering setbacks and levee changes at a particularly troublesome area. Feasibility studies also are underway in Jefferson City and Brunswick, which have both experienced recurrent flooding.
“It’s a slow, slow process as anything is with the government,” Waters says. “But we’re going to get there, I think, and things look more positive now than in the 30 years I’ve been dealing with the river.”
Waters says the efforts have spawned real change, not just superficial action.
“In my mind, we’re moving forward in a direction that we’re going to see some positive changes. It’s been 30 years since we’ve seen them talk about building a new levee or improving levees.”
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