President Obama Sends River Flood to Missouri

The Federal Government sapped a levy holding the Mississippi River back out of Missouri to save a town in the President's home state of Illinois from potential flooding. Demographic, utilitarian political choices are exemplified-the greatest good for the greatest politician determines the political decision. If Harry S. Truman were President would he have made the same decision, or would Illinois have been inundated?

For several years environmental scientists have studied the idea of allowing the Mississippi River to flood naturally instead of trying to force it into a levied drainage ditch; not only unrealistic, its bad for fishing and hunting as well. The method used by the government to use the flood control method of flood diversion needs improvement.

Select areas might be designated for high-water flood control overflow and special gates installed to allow flooding from a given level rather than at a zero level as results when a levy is blown. Perhaps only a few feet of water off the top needed to spill over instead of flooding it down to ground zero.

Horizontal river spillways of lower height than other levies along the Mississippi might be built along with a comprehensive overflow spill control design to channel future floods into constructive ends. Farmers and others in these areas should know the potential high water mark and build accordingly. The federal government might compensate farmers for years when their fields are flooded because of high water. The government should also notify farmers adequately in advance of floods so expensive farm equipment can be moved. If homes and other structures must be built in flood overflow areas, they should be built on concrete piers, be able to float or be set on survival islands with rip rap rock around them.

Overall, I would give the Army Corps of Engineers and D grade donated by the Administration for a failure to better plan for Mississippi overflow spill control. We know from the failure of levies in the Katrina disaster that the Congress values spending billions for foreign kinetic military actions over funding the Corp of Engineers to work with ecological analysts to improve the United States.

When obvious flood control overflow is possible-even the Indians of Cohokia of A.D. had the good sense God gave them to build near St. Louis in a location where there pyramids could survive for a millennia without being flooded by water (the human flood of insensitive development overtook them)-the U.S. Government should use and implement new flood control overflow spill control planning with synergetic, beneficial effects on the environment and farm prosperity.