KCRag Forum

Is there any talk of impact of the onslaught of water which is going to be headed down the river soon to KC?

Each day that passes... Gavins Point dam, up by Sioux City, is setting a new record for release of water... they're currently at about 80,000 cfm.   They are projected to increase this to a shocking -150,000- cfm... more than doubling past record releases.

The river is expected to come to within 1-2 feet of the city of Omaha's concrete levee system... but will likely remain there for up to -2- weeks!  Storm sewers will be shut off... meaning any torrential rains that occur... will have to sit.  Should make for an interesting college world series.

The Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant north of Omaha... is projected to be in at least 4 feet of water!  I have a friend who's an engineer up there... says they just recently went through an exercise to evaluate their 500 year flood plan, after the tsunami... how timely!

Yes, it was on the news this morning.  If levels are as currently expected Parkville will see some flooding in the park/landing area (the name is escaping me) but KC itself should not be impacted.  It was noted the expectations are waterlines lower than 1993 flood levels.  The West Bottoms thread made me think of this as well.

Found a not so informative article:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/02/29 ... ansas.html

Going over the L&C viaduct, the river looks at least as high if not higher than I can ever remember seeing it.

Flood warning tomorrow morning at 23rd st. in KCK for the Kaw

Kansas (Kaw) River here in Topeka was at 25.53 feet (Flood Stage is 26 feet). The current depth is around 22.5 feet.

21st highest it's been in history.

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/crests.p ... gage=tpak1

We all need to be praying that the rains hold off over the next several weeks or we could end up having a worst flood than back in 1993, or if all goes badly, 1951.

I spoke to my brother this afternoon and he said that the Corps of Engineers had a public meeting in my hometown (about 85 miles north of Kansas City) in the Missouri River basin (Holt County).  

Of real concern is the integrity of the up river dams and if they can hold the volume of water expected from the early snow melt. High spring temperatures have caused snow to melt faster than predicted, and heavy rains in the upper plains has filled the reservoirs. The Corps is monitoring the Ft. Peck dam and are concerned it might not be able to hold the water coming--even with the release of water. They are concerned the dam might fail.

TIf this happens, the Corps told everyone in my hometown to expect three feet of water in town past the last levee. This hasn't happened since 1952.  What's worse, the Corps says the water could stand in town for two months or more, which would ruin the flooded houses and made them uninhabitable for good.

While we have had floods up there in the past, this is a rare event. The Corps is saying that water will be released from upstream dams in the next few days, and the river level could remain at flood stage for most of the summer.  Levees can take flooding over a period of days, but many are vulnerable if they have water against them for more than a week. They are constructed of soil and sand, and once saturated, they collapse.  Even if the water goes down, the under-soil would be so weak that the levee might collapse.

The other problem is once the flood water reaches Holt County and the levees hold, the soil up there is so saturated with water right now that any heavy rains would send torrents into local streams and rivers, and because the Missouri would be high, when the rainwater reachs it, the water would back up into streams and rivers and out of their banks.

Another problem for Kansas City is the Iatan electric plant. It's possible it could be affected by the flooding. Maybe not so much from flood water, but lack of coal. The problem is that coal is shipped by rail down the Missouri River valley from the West, and the railroads could be under water for months.

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/02/136896445 ... mer-floods

http://www.sidneyherald.com/articles/20 ... 881106.txt

Met a cousin today from Sioux City.  They expect the flooding from the release to last 2 or more months in the areas that flood (best case scenerio).  And just think of the farm land in SE MO that was flooded to save Cairo, IL.  That land is out of production for years.

I was in Lawrence today, and the Kansas River was as high as I ever remember seeing it.  The island in the river just below the dam was under several feet of water. 

The Corps told people that if the Ft. Peck dam fails, it could send a wall of water down the Missouri so powerful that it could cause the lower dams to top over and fail as well, and that the Missouri River bottoms could flood from bluff to bluff all the way from S. Dakota to St. Louis as the water moves downstream.

aknowledgeableperson wrote: And just think of the farm land in SE MO that was flooded to save Cairo, IL.  That land is out of production for years.

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

I don't believe in prayer, but i believe in grace. let the good times be remembered. I can olnly hope that the Missouri bottoms at St. Louis flood, and I'm not alone in St. Louis.

Levee breached in Atchison County, Missouri, about 120 miles north of Kansas City.

http://www.facebook.com/OmahaUSACE#!/ph ... =1&theater

warwickland wrote: I don't believe in prayer, but i believe in grace. let the good times be remembered. I can olnly hope that the Missouri bottoms at St. Louis flood, and I'm not alone in St. Louis.

? You hope they flood? Why?

Press release issued by the Corps:

http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/pa/pahm/NR052811.pdf

High flows thrust the Missouri Basin into uncharted territory.

http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/pa/p ... -24-11.pdf

Don't know if you guys saw Gary Lezak's blog but he was predicting up to five inches of rain near St. Joseph this weekend. Not good.

http://weatherblog.nbcactionnews.com

Parkville prepares for summer flooding

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... b&page=all

KC0KEK wrote: What exactly is the damage that keeps it out of production for that long? The debris brought in by the floodwaters? Something else?

Not sure of accuracy but this is one viewpoint:

"It sounds simple, except that it will flood 130,000 acres of farmland. This would wash away valuable topsoil leaving a layer of silt that would take decades to clear, contaminate waters with chemicals and other pollutants. This also would possibly change the course the river takes, affecting the states to the south.

Another:

“Running that much water through that many acres, we’re worried about the damage it would do permanently to the farm ground. That holds not only for this year’s crop, of course, but (into the future). It would leave behind sand deposits and trash.

And:

Mainord says that if the floodway is opened, as much as a third of the farmland in the area would not be farmed again. “A lot of the drainage would be filled with sand and sediment. It would take years to recover.

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