Flooding on the Missouri

[FangKC]

The thing that is making me nervous is the Ft. Peck Dam. From what the report states, it isn't a matter of 'if' but 'when'. If it goes, there will be repercussions not just along the Missouri, but all the way to New Orleans. If it holds, hopefully, it will be a wake-up call to overhaul our dams and levees, if not outright removing some of them in pertinent locations.

Yeah, everyone up in my hometown are most concerned about the Ft. Peck dam.  Right now, Corps of Engineers inundation maps show floodwaters coming up to the levee right outside of town.  If Ft. Peck fails, the town will have 3 feet of water in it.

In addition, if the Ft. Peck dam fails, Kansas City will probably see water inundate the land all around the Iatan power plant; and flood the Keebler and GM plants in KCKS; Charles Wheeler airport; the east bottoms including the Bayer plant; the Argosy and Ameristar casinos, and the Harrah's will be cut off from the Chouteau Trafficway.  The levees near the Paseo Bridge that protect North Kansas City might fail as well from the pressure.

[KC0KEK]

The thing that is making me nervous is the Ft. Peck Dam. From what the report states, it isn't a matter of 'if' but 'when'. If it goes, there will be repercussions not just along the Missouri, but all the way to New Orleans. If it holds, hopefully, it will be a wake-up call to overhaul our dams and levees, if not outright removing some of them in pertinent locations.

I'm not so sure. It's been nearly a decade since 9/11, and public safety still doesn't have a nationwide, interoperable radio system. And from what I've read about NOLA, many of the lessons learned from Katrina haven't been applied.

[NDTeve]

maybe we should stop development in the flood plains.

[IraGlacialis]

maybe we should stop development in the flood plains.

Probably full-on industrial, residential, or commercial development.
However, it still stands that floodplains give some of the best agriculture for obvious reasons despite the risks.

That being said, there is a lot of floodplain that should be reverted back to wetlands, especially considering their endangered status. Besides marshes serving as a dampener for flooding, they also take up a lot of the pollution from run-off as well as serving as habitat for waterfowl and fisheries.

[FangKC]

Slideshow of flooding in NW Missouri and near Hamburg, Iowa.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/13/29 ... oding.html

[eomaha.com]

Iowa immediately across the I-680 bridge (north Omaha)... flooded all the way to the bluffs.

The Great Missouri Flood of 2011 Omaha / Council Bluffs

Airport's earthen levees have to handle water lapping near the top of them for up to -2- months!

And water already backing up in storm sewers in north downtown...
http://www.ketv.com/missouri-river-floo ... video.html

Parking lot of Qwest Center filling up...
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 2929_n.jpg

[FangKC]

Hamburg races to build secondary levee.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/13/29 ... -near.html

[eomaha.com]

The CNN satellite truck has arrived at the Omaha riverfront... apparently we've become newsworthy.

and story on the airport's efforts to stay above water...
http://omaha.com/article/20110615/NEWS0 ... loodwaters

[heatherkay]

I'm in the Sioux City area right now, and I'd say things are at moderate freak out. Lots of sandbagging events. People from the low lying planned golf community on the Nebraska side outright buying new houses in a hilly part of Sioux City. Info about warning siren systems. And I29 is now closed at multiple points. Think I'm headed inland before heading south.

[loftguy]

Think I'm headed inland before heading south.

Wow!.........Think about it...inland Iowa!?

[heatherkay]

Ha!  Well, how about upcountry?

[loftguy]

Ok, it's official.  Fang and I are loading boards and headed to Hamburg. 

We're gonna catch the big wave from from Ft. Peck and hang 10.

We think that if we can make the bend at KC, St. Louis is doable.

From there we'll have to see.

[splash]

How long do they expect the flooding to last in that area?  It's a goofy reason to ask, but some friends and I are going on a motorcycle trip the first week of August and we've traveled up I29 in the past.  Just wondering if we should be planning an alternate route or not because I've read that the flooding could last a couple of months.

[taxi]

How long do they expect the flooding to last in that area?  It's a goofy reason to ask, but some friends and I are going on a motorcycle trip the first week of August and we've traveled up I29 in the past.  Just wondering if we should be planning an alternate route or not because I've read that the flooding could last a couple of months.

You need to earn your handle, splash!

Ok, it's official.  Fang and I are loading boards and headed to Hamburg. 

We're gonna catch the big wave from from Ft. Peck and hang 10.

We think that if we can make the bend at KC, St. Louis is doable.

From there we'll have to see.

Just be sure to duck when you go under the bridges!

[grovester]

I'd plan an alternate.  I also heard that the elevated levels would last all summer.

[NDTeve]

does this flooding and levees bursting help us downriver? Less water and lower speed would put less pressure on our levees wouldn't it?

[loftguy]

Just be sure to duck when you go under the bridges!

Fang said he's got the jump nailed and he's going to show me.

[IraGlacialis]

^^^^^
Nice last words.

does this flooding and levees bursting help us downriver? Less water and lower speed would put less pressure on our levees wouldn't it?

Somewhat. Hence why levees are sometimes purposely busted to save one area (the incident with Cairo earlier this year for example).
However, if there is enough water, those levees bursting may become inconsequential unless you had a high amount of burst levees occurring.

[FangKC]

Those levees in NW Missouri failed even before the highest water levels reached that area.  The big increases in water being let out of upriver dams haven't even reached NW Missouri yet.

The real problem will be having water up against all levees along the Missouri for up to two months--even here in Kansas City.  Any of them could fail after becoming waterlogged, and with the water pressure against them.

The areas of most concern in Kansas City will be were the river is channeled by levees and narrower, which automatically makes the water level go up. There is also much more pressure against those levees in the narrower areas.  The water level goes higher and pressure pushes outward.

It doesn't matter if you have a 50 foot levee protecting bottom land if the levee becomes saturated with water.  It's not the overtopping that is the problem in that case, it's the fact the levee is soaked with water and just melts away.

And a sand boil can pop up behind an intact 50-foot levee and flood it on both sides. Remember, that all the bottom levees are built on sandy floodplain soil.

The areas that I think will be most at risk in the Metro area will be:

The Riverside levee near the bend in the river, where that creek enters the river.

The levee near the 7th Street Trafficway Bridge in KCKS--specifically that floodwall there. That is probably the weakest point for the Fairfax District and the GM and Keebler plants.

The other weak point will be the levee near the north end of Charles Wheeler Downtown Airport where Lou Holland Drive and N. Levee Road meet. There will be a lot of pressure against that levee with sustained flood-stage river levels over a long period.

Another problem area is the levee along the north bank of the Missouri east of the Paseo Bridge--in the area from Quebec to Vernon streets in North Kansas City.

The East Bottoms levee east of the Isle of Capri Casino near Chestnut Trafficway.

The Birmingham levee next to the Ameristar Casino. It's vulnerable because it's at the bend in the river where the flood plain narrows.

The levee east of the Bayer Plant.  This would be primarily if rainstorms raised the Blue River to high levels. The Blue River would have trouble emptying into the Missouri, and would back up into the Blue River channel.

The West Bottoms is less affected by the level of the Missouri River short-term. The problem for the WB is if the Kansas River fills up because of a big rainstorm. The Missouri will push back the Kansas River into its channel because the mouth of the Kansas River is on the bend of the Missouri where the pressure from the Missouri will be greater.  If the rain storm is also here in Kansas City, we will also have the problem of Turkey Creek flowing into the Kansas River. The pumps may not be able to handle it.

Of course, if the Ft. Peck dam fails, it's anyone's guess what is going to happen.

[aknowledgeableperson]

What exactly is the damage that keeps it out of production for that long? The debris brought in by the floodwaters? Something else?

Go to:
www.kmbc.com/slideshow/news/28232214/detail.html
and you will find out what flooding can do to farmland.