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Flood recovery along Missouri River moves to stage three

Repairing damaged levees along the Missouri River from the 2019 flood that caused millions of dollars in damage to farmland is almost finished.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Hines with the Army Corps of Engineers says repairing the levees completes the second phase of their program. “If we were to have a flood this spring although we’re not predicted to do that, not forecast to do that, we’re in a condition now that we could be prepared to flood fight.”

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts says the third phase of the program is vital to avoid repeats of 2011 and 2019. “The next state would be ‘what are we going to do next, how are we going to change things’?” he says. “That process is going to involve doing studies that’s going to take three to four years to do and come up with a number of different projects that we can work on to be able to start making some of those changes to the river,” he said.

Ricketts joined Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Missouri Governor Mike Parson Thursday in Council Bluffs to receive an update on flood recovery progress. 

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says one major repair has been made in Hamburg at ditch 6. “It’s the first time in history that we’ve been able to take advantage of the 2016 porta-funding that allowed us through one of the statutes to use non-federal funding to increase the height of the levee,” Reynolds says. “That is significant to Hamburg that’s been impacted over the last three floods that’s devastated the area.”

Missouri Governor Mike Parson said repairs made in Atchison County are an example of how working collaboratively creates long-term solutions. “This is the first time in decades that we can make a difference on how that river is going to affect,” he says. “I think that will be a model piece that you’re going to see other states, other people are going to come in say ‘hey when you have a private levee and a federal levee and what the state’s involvement how you can do this better,’ Parson said.

The three governors said they continue to work with other states along the Missouri River like Kansas, South Dakota and Montana.