Corps: Blowing Birds Point levee unlikely

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Army Corps of Engineers officials say it's unlikely they will have to blow holes in the Birds Point levee in the coming days to alleviate flooding elsewhere along the Mississippi River, but they say they are prepared to do it if necessary.

"We have a low probability," said Col. Jeff Anderson, commander of the Corps' Memphis, Tennessee, district.

Still, he said the Corps likely would load barges with explosives in Memphis in case the levee would need to be breached, allowing floodwaters to flow across the 130,000 acres of floodway. Most of that area is in Mississippi County and consists of rich farmland.

Major flooding along the rain-swollen Mississippi River and its tributaries has damaged homes and businesses and closed roads and highways in the St. Louis area, prompting some evacuations. Gov. Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

Federal, state and local officials are bracing for the high water that will move downstream over the next several days, putting pressure on Corps and agricultural levees on both sides of the river.

The Mississippi River water rushes Wednesday under the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge in Cape Girardeau. (Laura Simon)

Anderson and other Corps officials toured the Birds Point levee Wednesday with U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., and members of his staff and that of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt.

Smith said Southeast Missouri farmers are worried the Corps might open holes in the levee, flooding their farms.

"There is a huge uneasiness," the 8th District congressman said, adding he has received calls on his cellphone from anxious farmers who distrust the Corps.

Four years ago, the Corps blew three holes in the earthen levee during spring flooding along the Mississippi River. One of the breaches was two miles wide. The other two were each a mile wide. The incident marked only the second time the federal agency had breached the levee since 1937. Corps officials said the 2011 breach occurred after the river reached 61.7 feet at Cairo, Illinois, about 21 feet above flood stage.

This time, the river is forecast to crest at Cairo at 59 feet Tuesday. Smith said it's his understanding "61 is the explosive mark." Anderson and Corps emergency operations manager Steve Barry said the river would have to reach 60.5 feet on the gauge before the Corps would consider breaching the levee.

Barry said the floodway was designed to handle floodwaters if needed.

"The purpose of the floodways is to relieve stress on the levee system," he explained.

Anderson said he doesn't think the river will rise to 2011 levels in that area unless the region receives substantial rain in the next few days.

Water is being held back at Kentucky Lake to help reduce the crest at Cairo, he said.

"There is an incredible amount of rain that has fallen," he said, pointing out lakes of backwater that have formed on the land side of the levees.

"Everything we do with flooding is dictated by the Cairo gauge," the Army colonel said.

As Corps officials and Smith walked on the levee, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced its plans to close U.S. 51 at Cairo on Wednesday night as a result of rising floodwater. The highway is required to close between Wickliffe, Kentucky, and the Ohio River Bridge at Cairo at 55.4 feet, cutting off access to the bridge.

In his visit to the Missouri levees, Anderson said, "The Commerce-Birds Point levee is the most important levee in the Memphis district."

The twists and turns of the river channel in that area put a lot of pressure on the levee during high water, he said.

At the current flood levels, Anderson said it's likely the Mississippi River will top an agricultural levee on the Illinois side. If that happens, it will alleviate some pressure on the Missouri levees, he said.

The levee system along the Missouri side has a 1,500-foot gap near New Madrid, Missouri, in the St. Johns Bayou Drainage District. Congress has authorized a project to close the gap, but Anderson said no funding has been provided.

Smith said the project at one time had been funded by Congress but was derailed by litigation. Environmental groups successfully sued in federal court to block the project several years ago.

As for the Birds Point levee, Smith said it cost millions of dollars to repair the earthen structure after the 2011 man-made breach.

"We hope the activation doesn't happen," he told Corps officials.

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