COMMUNITY UPDATE: PLANS IN WORKS TO CONTROL FLOODING

With the assistance of information provided by city engineer Dan Triller, I would like to give you some past history and our future plans to study to reduce the potential of major flooding along Hubble, Goose and Williams creeks in Jackson.

In 1995, the City of Jackson joined a committee to develop a Hubble Creek Watershed Improvement Plan. The plan was developed to control sediment, restore riparian buffers, restore wetlands and reduce flooding.

In 1997, the City of Jackson worked with the Corps of Engineers to get funding to develop a hydraulic model to be used to update the Federal Emergency Management Agency floodplain maps on Hubble Creek.

In 1998 the City of Jackson began to develop a revised version of the erosion control ordinance and add a new stormwater ordinance to add criteria for stormwater system design which would incorporate stormwater detention facilities. Plans are to have this ordinance into effect by the end of 2001.

In 1998 a stormwater steering committee was established by Cape Girardeau County to begin studying regulations which could be adopted countywide for erosion and stormwater control. County planning and zoning did not pass, and the committee has not met since.

In 2001, the City of Jackson, received funding from FEMA, The Corps of Engineers, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to complete the hydraulic modeling on Hubble, Goose and Williams creeks. After the models are developed, new FEMA floodplain maps will be developed for use by the City of Jackson.

Just recently the City of Jackson contacted Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's office for fund appropriation to the Hubble Creek Watershed flood study. The Corps of Engineers plans to study the effects for constructing small reservoirs upstream of the city of Jackson to control flooding in the city. Other flood control projects will also be studied during this contract.

A few months ago, the City of Jackson reviewed the current flood plain maps and developed a list of the effects of flooding during a 100-year storm event (a storm magnitude which occurs once every 100 years statistically) in the City of Jackson.

Substantial flooding will occur in a storm of this size, and this is why the Corps of Engineers has put a high priority on this watershed and will be studying the Hubble Creek watershed, and flood control projects will be identified. At this time the City of Jackson has received $80,000 from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, $60,000 from FEMA and $12,500 from the Corps of Engineers. The city is also working on an additional $300,000 for the Corps of Engineers to do additional flood control studies.

I have received a letter from U.S. Corps of Engineers Col. Michael Morrow saying he has requested funding to do these additional studies and expects the funding to be approved in the near future. As soon as these funds are received, we will begin the in-depth studies needed to examine flood damage reduction.

This is all good news to the City of Jackson and surrounding area. By addressing these concerns, we will be able to minimize the potential for major flooding in the Jackson area. We believe our proactive approach concerning stormwater run-off will pay off in a positive way for the future of our growing city.

The council meets every Monday at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall in Jackson. Your ideas and suggestions on how we can improve Jackson are always welcome.