By NATE KING
Salina Post
On Monday, July 15, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran participated in a ceremonial signing event with the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Salina to facilitate the transfer of the Smoky Hill River Project to a new program under the Corps of Engineers.
The event took place at 1:30 p.m. in the Prescott Room of the Salina Public Library, 301 W Elm St, Salina, KS 67401. Community members, city staff, and current and past City and county commissioners were also present.
"This is something we all can say, 'WOW!'" said Sen. Jerry Moran. "Particularly those who visit here and don't live here, they see the dramatic change in Salina. You [residents] saw it gradually, but throughout this whole period, the Friends of the River have twisted my arm for 20 years and have been faithful and attentive."
Moran told the approximately 50 community members in attendance how the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Salina collaborated on this project.
"At some point in time, years ago, the Corps and the city changed the channeling of the river for flood control, and the Friends of the River in the community decided there would be a better outcome if we went to where that original river channel was," Moran said.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Smoky Hill River Development Committee convened for the first time under Salina City Manager Dennis Kissinger to explore improvements to the old river channel. Then, in December 2009, the City of Salina authorized the preparation of a master plan to guide the restoration efforts.
In 2010, the residents of Salina defeated a proposed .25% sales tax. The vote was 65.2% against and 34.8% in favor. The overall feeling at the time was "not now" instead of "not ever."
The Friends of the River oversaw the 2016 "Yes for a Better Salina" campaign. The campaign called for an increase in Salina's sales tax from 8.4% to 8.75% for the next 20 years. In total, $1.35 million raised annually is used to help the Smoky Hill River project. A portion sales tax raised went to roads, parks etc.
U.S. Army Colonel Travis Rayfield spoke at the event on Monday and explained why the project needed to be moved to a different federal account.
"We're getting close to the tentatively selected plan, and we recognized the total project cost under this authority would exceed the $10 million cap in federal funding," Col Rayfield said. "There is more benefit here for the taxpayers of America than that authority allowed. That required us to go engage through our leadership back in Washington DC to inform our congressional delegation, including Sen. Moran's office, that we had a potential investment here that exceeds the cap."
Rayfield continued, "We needed to progress under a new authority if it's the right thing to do, and in this case, that's what today's event is all about," Rayfield said. "Congress exercised the power of the purse under appropriations in this fiscal year to allow us [ARMY CORPS] to formally partner with the City of Salina, and we're going to transition from the Continuing Authorities Program to the General Investigations Program."
Rayfield said the process involved in moving a project to a different program, like what was done for the Smoky Hill River Revitalization Project, usually takes time.
"That's a really neat thing; this doesn't happen very often in a timely fashion," Rayfield said.
Rayfield said that the Army Corps of Engineers hopes to finalize the planning process by the end of 2025.
"At the district level, we'll turn in our plan/report/study into our headquarters. I would expect the chief engineers to turn into Congress for inclusion in the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 authorization for us to do something a little bit different. Here in Salina."
Estimated Project Costs (GI Program) Cost Share Breakdown
$13,705,000 Federal Share
$7,610,000 Non-Federal Share (City of Salina cost)
$21,315,000 Total
Mayor Longbine shares Smoky Hill River Memories
At the ceremony, Salina Mayor Bill Longbine recalled his memories of the Smoky Hill River as a young man.
"I was fortunate to grow up in Salina in the 1960s and 70s when we still had a flowing river, but it was controlled," Longbine said. "I heard many stories and saw pictures from the flood of 1951, which was the deciding factor of the Corps of Engineers to provide flood control for the City. During my youth, we enjoyed small boats and fishing on the river."
Longbine expressed his appreciation to Moran for his help in making what was once deemed a dream project a reality.
"We would not have reason to be here today, on this hot July day, without the steadfast support of our Sen. Jerry Moran," Longbine said. "Last year, Senator Moran was instrumental in securing Raise Grant funding for the bridge and transportation portion of the river project."
The RAISE Grant, issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, represents $1.5 billion aimed to help rural and urban communities move forward on projects that modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation and make transportation systems safer, more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable.
The Smoky Hill River Revitalization project received $22 million from this fund. The RAISE Grant funds will pay for constructing seven bridges across the restored Old Smoky Hill River channel that winds through downtown Salina. These bridges will replace aging and undersized culvert structures that are hydraulically deficient and can cause flooding in the City. The RAISE Grant funds will also be used to restore the channel, install boat drops and create trails, etc.
"While it has been a long process to reach this day, it will also be a long process to see the completion of the project with water flowing at the end of the year 2030," Longbine said. "Several people who have served on Friends of the River boards and committees have passed on or moved away before we see the project completed. Others may not be here to see and enjoy. The people of Salina are not just pursuing this project for themselves. We are doing this for future generations of Salinans."
Jane Anderson, executive director of the Friends of the River Foundation, said the agreement signed on Monday was a "sweet moment" for the Friends and the Salina community.
"It's a sweet moment. We've been going through this for such a long time. It's hard to believe we will have construction here soon," Anderson said. "We are really on the final leg of this journey."
According to Martha Tasker, utility director for the City of Salina, the feasibility study will be completed between now and 2026, and the project will be completed by the end of 2030.
Smoky Hill Revitilization total project cost:
USACE Project - $21,500,000
RAISE Grant Project: $39,000,000
Additional Project Costs: $10,000,000
T0tal: Approximately $70 million
*Federal contribution: USACE $13.7 million + RAISE $22.1 = $35.8 million*
Information about the project, courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The project area, located in Saline County, Kansas, includes approximately 6.8 miles of remnant "Old Channel," which flows through downtown Salina and adjacent riparian forest areas. The Old Channel inlet captures flow from the Smoky Hill River north of the Bill Burke Sports Complex.
The Old Channel meanders west through downtown Salina, then turns east through Lakewood Lake Park, drains through a federal levee outlet control and pump station, and re-connects to the Smoky Hill River south of East North Street.
Problem & Need: A USACE Flood Risk Management (FRM) project, including a levee and cutoff channel, was completed in 1961. The project isolated the Old Channel from the Smoky Hill River. It permanently diverted a significant volume of surface water away from the Old Channel, resulting in lost flow regimes and natural sediment transport functions.
These changes have resulted in sediment aggradation, loss of high-quality in-stream, wetland, and riparian corridor habitats, and the Old Channel's inability to support native fish and wildlife communities. The City of Salina and the surrounding public are interested in reestablishing flow, recreating stream habitat, and incorporating the rehabilitated stream into the larger downtown revitalization plan.