(Jefferson City, MO, Thursday, March 18, 2021) – The Missouri River in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri experienced severe flooding in 2019 breaching levees, inundating 100s of thousands of acres, and causing billions of dollars of damage to infrastructure, including farms, railroads and Interstate highways. The Atchison County Levee District No. 1 in consultation with the impacted landowners, and partners including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy, determined that a large scale levee realignment—moving the levee inland to allow more room for floodwater—combined with a modern design, was in the best interest of their community now and for future generations.

Regan Griffin, board member, Atchison County Levee District, discusses the importance of moving the levee inland.

SOUNDBITE:

THE DEVASTATION FROM THE SEVERE FLOODING OF TWENTY-NINETEEN IS STILL EVIDENT. WE KNEW AS A LEVEE DISTRICT AND AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO LESSEN THE IMPACTS OF REPETITIVE FLOODING ON OUR HOMES AND FARMS. REALIGNING THE LEVEE TO PROVIDE MORE ROOM FOR THE RIVER WILL HAVE IMMEDIATE BENEFITS AND BENEFITS FOR THE FUTURE.

Lowell Blankers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers describes the benefits of a levee realignment/ setback.

SOUNDBITE:

BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF LEVEE BREACHES AND THE SEVERITY OF DAMAGES, LEVEE REALIGNMENT WAS THE LEAST COST, TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE REPAIR ALTERNATIVE PROVIDING MANY BENEFITS. THE REPAIRS WILL REDUCE FLOOD RISK AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESILIENCY FOR THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE. THE AREA NOW RIVERWARD OF THE LEVEE WILL BE RECONNECTED TO THE RIVER, REESTABLISHING A PORTION OF THE NATURAL FLOODPLAIN. THIS WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHER STAKEHOLDERS SUCH AS THE N-R-C-S AND M-D-C TO IMPROVE HABITAT FOR A WIDE ARRAY OF FISH AND OTHER WILDLIFE, INCLUDING RARE AND DECLINING SPECIES AND SPECIES OF  CONSERVATION CONCERN.

For more information, please visit www.nature.org/MoRiverLevee.