St. Joseph News-Press

St. Joseph, Mo.

April 28, 2019

With heartbreak, we have watched our friends and neighbors across the states of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska suffer from the impacts of historic Missouri River flooding, caused by severe winter weather, which included the infamous “bomb cyclone” pattern, leaving behind record river stages, a dam failure, and scores of levee breaches with little warning for residents to move personal property, equipment, and stored crops.

Much has been said about this event, including criticisms directed toward the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. While there will be plenty of time to analyze if anything could've been done better, we are thankful for the Corps' efforts on several fronts, including positioning flood control gates at Gavins Point Dam to allow it to hold over 2 feet of extra water, and stopping releases from Fort Randall Dam. These extraordinary measures undoubtedly prevented further damage.

While some are angry about misplaced priorities of the Corps, angst might be better directed at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which dictates much of the Corps' actions. We are not implying the Service's directives contributed to this extraordinary flooding, but believe it's worth pointing out its history of mandates to the Corps.

These include implementation of artificial spring rises, construction of shallow water habitat chutes, and notching of rock dikes that control the river's channel – all unproven experiments to aid endangered pallid sturgeon.

The Service views the Missouri River as a pallid sturgeon laboratory, and its forced experiments have led to severe riverbank erosion, undercutting of levees, and destruction of private property, resulting in a changed river for people that live and work alongside it.

It's time to redouble our efforts on providing lower Missouri River residents with an improved flood control system. Flood control and protection of human life and property must be paramount in any decisions regarding Missouri River management.

Serious consideration must be given to increased upstream flood control storage, whether that be in the mainstem dams or on tributary projects.

We are encouraged by the recent meeting between the governors of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska and Corps leadership, focusing on solutions to protect against future floods. The governors stated they want to become more active in Missouri River management, and it’s high time they have a prominent seat at the table.

While large floods often create huge amounts of destruction and personal suffering, they also create the chance to be more resilient to future floods. For the benefit of regional economic development and opportunities for future generations, we cannot delay these crucial conversations.