Digging Deeper...
/
This photo, posted by the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Police Department in June 2019, shows Missouri River floodwaters looking north from the Interstate 29 interchange with I-680 north of Council Bluffs.
Council Bluffs (Iowa) Police Department
A year ago, in the December 2019 edition of the Council newsletter, the focus of the Digging Deeper column was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ lack of emphasis on flood control in the omnibus Endangered Species Act of 1973 that over the years shifted priorities away from mitigating often ruinous flooding to protecting endangered wildlife. At the same time a year ago, Missouri congressional representatives and senators were working on legislation – the omnibus Water Resource Development Act that is reviewed biennially – that would ensure farmers are participants in any USACE decision-making that directly impacts their farms and communities. Specifically, U.S. Representative Sam Graves’ House Act makes flood control the overarching and number one priority in the Corps’ Master Manual.
By Dennis McLaughlin, McLaughlin Writers LLC.
Missouri River Regions Looking At Improved Flood Control
Last month, more than a year after farms and communities along the Missouri River were finally recovering from disastrous spring flooding in 2019, it seems that earnest action has been taken to prevent or at least mitigate flood damage. Authorization of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 – introduced by U.S. Representative Sam Graves, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – is critical for flood control, navigation, ports, locks, dams and other water resources infrastructure.
“Ensuring that timely flood control and navigation improvements continue to occur is a centerpiece of this bill,” said Ranking Member Graves. “Lives and livelihoods depend on the important reforms in WRDA and I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill so we can help reduce the disastrous flooding we’ve seen over the years and improve the navigability of our rivers. This bill is the product of a bipartisan effort and it’s the perfect example of the way things should work around here.”
The final bill contains many important provisions to North Missouri:
Expanding work on a Lower Missouri River Basin Flood Risk and Resiliency Plan
Expedited completion of maintenance
Repair activities for Federally operated and maintained levee systems in the Lower Missouri River Basin,
Changes to the non-federal levee program to enhance flood protection, further prohibition of Interception-Rearing Complex’s (IRC’s),
Changes to the Inland Waterways Trust Fund cost-share which would help make repairs and upgrades to locks and dams on the Mississippi River,
Continuation of work on the Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan, along with several other provisions critical to flood control and navigation.
Some Work Underway
According to USACE’s Omaha District, significant strides have been made in repairing over 350 miles of levees across the Lower Missouri River Basin that were damaged following the historic floods of 2019. But a heightened level of flood risk remains for the communities and landowners behind these damaged levee systems as repair efforts remain ongoing. This risk is higher than it was prior to the 2019 flood because the levees were compromised, said a district spokesperson. “Until all of component of the system, such as seepage berms and relief wells are repaired, the system does not fully provide the same level of flood risk reduction as it did in its pre-flood condition.”
A lot of work has been done by the levee sponsors, other stakeholders, and USACE team to repair the levee systems that were decimated by the 2019 flooding. However, there is still a significant amount of work to be done. “The levees in their current conditions do not offer the same level of risk reduction as they did prior to the 2019 floods,” warned Matt Krajewski, Director of Emergency Operations, USACE-Omaha. “There is still work to be done up and down the system to restore the levees to their full protection level. I urge everyone to remain vigilant this upcoming flood season.”
To date, USACE has allocated nearly $500 million toward levee repair construction contracts, and more than $375 million of the work has been accomplished, including 15 projects that have been substantially completed, 12 that are currently under active construction and five projects that are still working through the design process. All levee systems ae expected to be at full height by March 1, 2021; and repairs on various other components of the levee systems will continue throughout much of the 2021 construction season. “Until these repairs can be completed the USACE, levee sponsor and local communities need to remain vigilant,” USACE Omaha said.
The Omaha District remains focused on ensuring the safety of citizens and remain positioned to provide flood fight assistance to state, local and tribal government agencies, as appropriate. It will also continue working with other federal partners to communicate the conditions on the river systems as the 2021 run-off season gets underway. When severe weather and/or heavy precipitation is forecast, the public is encouraged to keep in contact with their local emergency managers for the latest conditions in their area.
“WRDA 2020 makes it a priority to secure, upgrade and improve our non-federal levees,” said Rep. Graves in a statement. “After all, these levees protect countless small towns, and every levee is important to our flood control efforts because it only takes one weak link for things to turn south in a hurry.”
It will help upgrade locks and dams on the Mississippi River that are so critical to shipping our products across the country, he noted. The legislation builds on existing efforts to revamp flood control plans on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and speeds up the repair of federal levees damaged in 2019. For those areas that have seen repetitive flooding, Rep. Graves added, there will be new opportunities to upgrade infrastructure to reduce the risk of future flooding.
“This bill doesn’t fix everything, but WRDA 2020 does place a focus on improving flood control and navigation, which is critical. People’s lives and livelihoods are the top priority in my book. Our laws, regulations, and the management of our rivers should reflect that.”
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District; Omaha District’s System Restoration web page.
Flood Prognosis 2021
The risk for flooding along the Missouri River appears lower than normal headed into the 2021 flood season, according to officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service. The ground remains dry across most of the region and snowpack levels are generally below average, says the Corps and the NWS. But they caution it is still early in the year, and conditions could change. Current data indicate 2021 will be drier with only about 90% of the normal amount of water expected to flow down the Missouri.
Despite the vagaries of weather, USACE has solid engineering data backing up its optimism about a floodless spring:
Full flood control capacity on the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System is available for the 2021 runoff season.
"All 2020 flood water stored in the annual flood control zone has been evacuated as of Dec. 21, 2020" said John Remus, chief of the USACE Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.
Key Change In WRDA
The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 includes major changes in the way projects are funded, which could accelerate reconstruction of locks and dams and other waterway projects, Agri-Pulse reported in December. Prior to the new legislation, half the funding for projects came from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, which depends on revenue from barge fuel taxes. The other half comes from the federal Treasury. Under the new bill the Waterways Trust Fund contribution would drop to 35%, while the Treasury would pick up the tab for 65%. “The change would free up roughly $100 million a year in general funds for inland waterway construction projects,” wrote Agri-Pulse(December 16, 2020).
Changing the cost-share has been a major priority for the Waterways Council, which includes agricultural shippers. Waterways Council President Tracy Zea said the cost-share requirement hasn't been changed since the 1986 water projects bill. “You’re looking at funding three to four projects to completion, additional, with that funding,” he told Agri-Pulse. Zea said the change will expedite the construction timeline of lock and dam infrastructure, including the upper Mississippi River project known as the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program, which was authorized in 2007.
The water projects bill also authorizes roughly $9.9 billion in federal funds for 46 reports by the Army Corps of Engineers on navigation, flood risk management, hurricane and storm damage risk reduction, flood risk management, ecosystem restoration and water supply projects. Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, agreed additional funding would expedite work on waterway infrastructure projects, but noted there is always a concern with attaching a “widely bipartisan” bill to a massive omnibus bill that could get hung up on disagreements. “Any time it gets attached to something more controversial it has the opportunity to sink the entire ship and all of those passengers that are on board,” he said.
Source: Agri-Pulse Communications, December 16, 2020.