<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1616439920718.jpeg" alt="Sandbagging on the Elwood, Kansas, side of the Missouri River saved Elwood and Rosecrans Memorial Airport. Photo courtesy of the Air National Guard" />
 <figcaption>Sandbagging on the Elwood, Kansas, side of the Missouri River saved Elwood and Rosecrans Memorial Airport. Photo courtesy of the Air National Guard</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTIN <a href="https://stjosephpost.com">St. Joseph Post</a>ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Repairs to Missouri River levees damaged by the 2019 flood
have been nearly completed, though some stubborn problems will not be fixed
until after summer.Colonel Bill Hannan, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers’ Kansas City office, says the 2019 flood did such extensive damage to
Missouri River levees, some significant levees have yet to be repaired.“We should have the Corning levee repaired by April, the Holt (County)
10 by May, but the Holt 9 is the one that just due to circumstances,
assessments, the non-federal sponsor requirements that go into repairing these
levees; that one has been awarded,” Hannan tells St. Joseph Post. “The
contractor should start work here soon, but we expect, just because the amount
of damage to this levee system is extensive, repairs will be complete on Holt 9
probably in September.”That levee has drawn attention from both federal, state, and
local officials. Atchison County authorities have called for a change when the
levee is rebuilt. But, Hannan points out federal law limits the Corps in its
response, authorizing only that the Corps rebuild levees to their pre-flood
condition. Efforts are underway to change the law and allow the Corps more
flexibility to deal with structures which could cause recurring flooding.Much work has gone into repairing the levee which protects
Rushville and Sugar Lake. The Corps has had to work with the USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service to acquire needed easements to repair the levee which
broke in 2019, flooding the area and cutting off the route between St. Joseph
and Atchison, Kansas when it overflowed U.S. 59. Hannan says work to restore
that levee should begin this month or early next month.Approximately 70% of the repairs to the levees damaged in 2019
has been completed, restoring protection to slightly more than 90% of the
residents and property along the Missouri River in northwest Missouri.Hannan says the Corps also discovered extensive damage to the
navigation channel when Missouri River levels fell enough this winter to fully
inspect the channel.“The good news for repairs on navigation is going into this
season we have $74 million total that was allocated to us in this last budget
to work on all 734 miles,” Hannan says. “It’s not everything we need, but it’s
going to be a really good start to get all those priority areas fixed.”Hannan says the Corps is working with members of Congress and
others in Washington to secure the rest of the money needed to fully restore
the nine-foot navigation channel of the Missouri River.Hannan says the 2019 flood did more damage to the channel than
the Corps anticipated.“It turned out to be worse than we thought,” Hannan says. “We
had done some survey and some assessments based on the ’93 and 2011 floods and
how our structures came up to, but once we actually inspected them this winter
during our low-water inspection, it did turn out worse than we expected.”Hannan says the Corps expects a normal barge season on the
Missouri this year.“We know for sure right now we think we’ll have no issues with
the first half of the season, at least for flows, and then second half of the
season, they’ll make that call here in July,” Hannan says. “We will still, I
think, based on the damage to structures that we saw last season and through our
assessments over the winter, there’s a high risk we will have some areas that
we’re going to have to immediately get after and start repairs on that won’t be
meeting that nine-foot depth requirement.”

Repairs to Missouri River levees damaged in flood nearly complete