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Corps of Engineers readies to breach Birds Point levee to lower river levels

By Erin Hevern ~ Southeast Missourian

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District will meet today with the Mississippi River Commission to decide whether to intentionally breach the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway, flooding more than 100,000 acres of land in Mississippi County and lowering water levels upstream on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

The floodway, near Mississippi and New Madrid counties, is about 35 miles long and was created in 1928, according to the corps' website. The last time it was activated was in 1937 when the levee was naturally breached and the corps then opened it with explosives, according to Southeast Missourian archives.

The decision to intentionally breach the levee will be made after a 1 p.m. meeting, a public information officer said late Monday.

"No decision has been made about loading the barges or heading north; we are still monitoring," the corps said. The Mississippi River Commission president makes the final decision.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Gov. Jay Nixon expressed his concern about the possible breach, calling the action inappropriate.

"Intentionally breaching this levee would affect hundreds of families and pour a tremendous amount of water into 130,000 acres of prime farmland," Nixon said in the release.

In activating the floodway, the corps would use explosives to breach the levee, which would flood the thousands of acres of farmland. The breach would take pressure off the levee protecting Cairo, Ill., which is expected to crest at a record 61 feet May 3. At 8 p.m. Monday, the Ohio River measured just over 55 feet.

If the Mississippi River Commission decided to explode the levee at Birds Point, it prepares for the breach until the river hits 60 feet, according to the Memphis District's website. Water would spill over the levee at 62 feet.

"I think that almost all the farmers that have land in the spillway would rather have that two and a half foot cushion. Hopefully, it doesn't reach that height," said Clay Shelby, a farmer who owns around 800 acres in the spillway.

John Moreton, a farmer who owns land around Wyatt, Mo., and near the area that may get flooded, said the intentional breach won't make any difference in the river levels at Cairo.

"We understand that the corps thinks the breaching our levee would help the city of Cairo, but the city of Cairo has a higher levee than our outside levee," Moreton said. "We don't want residents hurt, but if it's not going to help the people in Cairo, we really don't want them to explode our levee."

Shelby, who also manages around 2,000 acres for Shelby Farms, said he and many other farmers are concerned about the aftermath of breaching the levee. They'd expect the water to fill ditches and upon exiting around New Madrid would leave piles of sand and a "big mess."

"It would take millions of dollars to repair the ditches alone," Shelby said. "This is scary for all of us."

The Corps of Engineers Memphis District increased its flood-fighting response efforts Sunday, establishing field offices in Cape Girardeau and Dyersburg, Tenn. Additional personnel were assigned to the offices and more corps staff are monitoring flood works as Ohio and Mississippi River levels rise.

From the cnn.com website...

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Missouri tries to block plan to breach Mississippi River levee

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) -- Missouri's attorney general turned to a federal court Tuesday to stop a federal plan to blow a levee to ease pressure on the flood-engorged Mississippi River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan would flood more than 130,000 evacuated acres in southeastern Missouri, much of it in Mississippi County, said Attorney General Chris Koster.

"The flooding would leave a layer of silt on the farmland that could take as much as a generation to clear, causing significant injury to the quality of the farmland for many years," Koster said in a statement about the lawsuit.

Midwesterners brace for possible record flooding

James Pogue, chief spokesman in the Corps' Memphis office, said the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway is a "safety valve" in the current crisis.

"This allows us to do what nature will do anyway, (but) in a controlled system," he said.

Birds Point is about 140 miles south of St. Louis. The floodway is about 35 miles from north to south and is four to 12 miles wide.

Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh ordered barges to be moved north on the river to prepare for the levee breach, Pogue said. "The decision was to move forward with the plan."

The Corps, which has authority over flood control, will make a final decision before the barges and teams get to work at Birds Point, he said. Reports indicate another meeting may occur Wednesday.

The river could crest in that area by Friday or over the weekend.

More evacuations after levee failure in Missouri

Koster argues the Corps is trying to protect Cairo, Illinois, downstream. Pogue said several communities along the river are in peril if nothing is done.

Koster also said a law requiring such action is unclear on whether the Corps has the authority to make a decision to detonate the levee.

About 100 families live in the floodway, which has not seen such use since 1937. Federal officials say the families have known of easements and legal rights the government has for flood control.

Not all the acreage will necessarily be covered by water, Pogue said, adding the farmland could be flooded anyway because of related rain and a backup of the Mississippi River.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill have expressed their concern.

The latter, in a statement, said the intentional breach "could jeopardize the livelihood of countless Missouri families."

Mississippi County deputies are patrolling the levee to keep unauthorized persons away, state officials said.

From the KFVS TV Channel 12 Website...

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Ill. lieut. gov. defends idea of breaching levee

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is defending the idea of intentionally breaching a Missouri levee to reduce flooding in Cairo (KAY-roh). (CAT Tracks Editor's Note: It's CARE-roh.)

Missouri officials object to the plan, saying it would endanger 130,000 acres of prime farmland.

But Simon told The Associated Press on Tuesday that farmers will be compensated for their losses and will be able to use the land next year. On the other hand, flooding could devastate the poor town of Cairo.

She noted an Illinois levee was intentionally breached during 1993 flooding.

Simon also says the Army Corps of Engineers would not break the Birds Point levee until water had already topped the levee.