JACKSON WORKS TO BATTLE FLOODING, EROSION

JACKSON -- The City of Jackson still hopes to participate in a plan to build detention basins in the Hubble Creek Watershed despite the state's recent rejection of a grant application that would have provided $1 million toward building the basins.

Flooding and erosion in the watershed are threatening county bridges and costing farmers an estimated one-fourth acre of property per mile per year.

The flooding and erosion could be eased in part by building upland detention basins that would catch storm runoff. A committee formed by the Cape Girardeau County Commission has been studying problems in the watershed and has recommended the basins as one of the solutions.

Local sources, including the City of Jackson, the county and farmers, would have been required to pay 25 percent of the $1 million grant applied for through the Department of Natural Resources.

Monday night, the Jackson Board of Aldermen voted to send a letter of support for the proposed detention basins to the Cape Girardeau County Soil and Water Conservation District in case the funding for the project is found. Jackson has pledged $10,000 on the building the basins over the next 10 years. The county thus far has not pledged any money.

The project would build 19 basins north of the Jackson's southern border and a total of 50 basins in the watershed. Dan Triller, the city engineer, said it is projected the basins could reduce a 100-year flood through the city by 35 percent.

Dave Owen, a district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, thinks the DNR was mistaken in not approving the application. "They said we didn't make the case that the pollution problem sediment is caused by agricultural sources," he said. The grant money is intended to prevent agricultural erosion.

Agreeing there are other sources of pollution, Owen pointed out that 85 percent of the watershed is agricultural. "We formulated a plan we thought would improve the watershed overall," he said.

He said there is a chance the committee will reconsider this year.

"I'm convinced we just have to shore up our application and have the people who rejected this come down and see this fits in their niche," he said.

The committee formed by the county to study problems in the watershed produced six recommendations. Besides the detention basins, the committee advised both the county and the City of Jackson to devise stormwater management ordinances. Owen said the necessary technical part of that work is proceeding.

Other recommendations were to build structures in Hubble Creek to prevent the water from cutting such a deep channel, to restore the riparian corridor and to build some cross-corridor buffers that would slow down water after the stream leaves its banks.

Sam Blackwell can be contacted at 335-6611 ext. 182 or by e-mail at sblackwell@semissourian.com.