Public meeting in Cape to focus on Miss. River flood management

Missouri wants to know what residents in Cape Girardeau and other communities along the Mississippi River desire to improve flood-plain management.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold a public meeting Tuesday in Cape Girardeau as part of its effort to seek public comment as the U.S. Corps of Engineers considers conducting a watershed study of the upper Mississippi River basin.

The meeting will be held at the Osage Centre, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Dru Buntin, DNR deputy director, said, "We are just trying to get out in advance of that (the study)."

He said, "This is an effort to get input from people locally who live and work along the river."

Missouri is part of a five-state association that wants to improve flood management along the upper Mississippi River in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Established in 1981, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association includes gubernatorial representatives from Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Kirsten Mickelsen, executive director of the association based in St. Paul, said too often flood-control efforts have happened without considering the flood plain.

Developing a comprehensive plan requires bringing all the stakeholders together, including cities, levee districts, waterways industry, conservation organizations and federal and state agencies, Mickelsen said.

"The watershed is sending an excessive volume of water and sediment through the flood plain at a high velocity that is surpassing the flood plain's capacity to handle," she said in a news release.

"Lack of an agreed-upon approach, coordination and investment to effectively manage floods and excessive sedimentation are compounding the challenges," she added.

Mickelsen wrote that the issues are "acute" for river cities and shippers and consumers who rely on the navigation system.

"Flooding and sedimentation also reduce the river's overall ecological health, limiting the availability and quality of habitat for fish and wildlife," she said.

Buntin said his agency already has held a number of meetings in Missouri communities along the river.

In addition to the upcoming Cape Girardeau meeting, DNR is scheduled to hold a meeting in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, on Jan. 16.

Buntin said DNR will continue to hold public meetings as needed, calling it a "continual process."

The Corps of Engineers has yet to secure funding for a watershed study, Buntin said.

The upper Mississippi River basin extends from northern Minnesota to Cairo, Illinois, a distance of about 1,300 miles, according to the association. About 850 miles of the upper Mississippi River, from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, to the confluence with the Ohio River is commercially navigable, the association said on its website.

Mickelsen said Missouri is the only participating state in the river association that has decided to hold public meetings regarding flood-plain management.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641