Missouri vs. Illinois...

[AdminAssistant]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/02/mis...iref=allsearch

In case you hadn't heard, with all the crazy happening lately, the MidSouth is getting a metric fuckton of rain. My Dad says he's seen 9 inches in as many days. Add that to an already wet spring and the confluence of many different river systems and you get problems. So the Army Corp of Engineers have elected to blow the shit out of a levee in southeast Missouri to provide temporary relief. They are saying that this will save a small town in Illinois.

Here are the issues:

1) Cairo, IL has a population of 3,000. It's a very poor, nearly deserted small town. The towns around the Missouri levee contain 14,000 people. They are supposed to be protected by a second levee, but it may or may not hold.

2) Farmland cannot be rebuilt as quickly as a house. Keep in mind - this is the most fertile land in the United States. This flooding will wash away the fertile topsoil and replace it with debris and sand. It will probably be an entire generation before the land is truly arable.

3) The Missouri farmland is in a floodplain. The landowners signed a document that stated that they were aware that the area might be flooded. However, surely the residents of Cairo were also aware of the risk of living next to the Mississippi.

4) Many believe that this has nothing to do with Cairo and everything to do with Paducah and Memphis. I try not to buy into conspiracy theories, but it's something to think about.

Personally, I say - flood the Illinois town. It seems that many, if not most, of the residents were in HUD housing anyway. It will actually be cheaper in the long run to rebuild a community at the top of a hill. By flooding the farmland, they aren't just pouring water onto some ground, they are washing away businesses. These farmers, their landlords, the local gins and silos, all will be hugely affected.

Of course, I won't pretend to be unbiased. My parents live not too far south of this area. The ground where they are is completely saturated and a nearby river is already over some bridges. A huge rush of water like this could cause more and more problems further south.

Oh, and not to mention, they're planning to use tons of explosives right on one of the most active fault lines in the US. That's a great plan.

[Racket_Man]

sounds a LOT like the small town of Graffton IL (about 30 or so miles north of St. Louis just north of Alton)) some years back. the town was built right on the river. In fact there were houses on stilts on the river bank) after one of the nasty rounds of Miss River flooding years ago they decided to MOVE the town up the hill to higher ground. DUH YA think????? not sure where ILL route 100 goes now since it was right there next to the river as well)

[daleduke17]

sounds a LOT like the small town of Graffton IL (about 30 or so miles north of St. Louis just north of Alton)) some years back. the town was built right on the river. In fact there were houses on stilts on the river bank) after one of the nasty rounds of Miss River flooding years ago they decided to MOVE the town up the hill to higher ground. DUH YA think????? not sure where ILL route 100 goes now since it was right there next to the river as well)

Last I knew IL-100 still runs right on the river between Grafton and Alton. Valmeyer, IL was another town that moved on top of the bluffs.

But, with the US-ACE wanting to blast the levee, it isn't just Cairo that they would be helping to save. Most of Pulaski, Alexander and (I think) Union Counties would be helped out.

The part that irks me about the whole thing is that the mayor of Cairo instituted mandatory evacuations and people STILL refused. Really, people? I take it that you're going to be like the ones from New Orleans who refused to leave, then started crying to responders to help you first.

[AdminAssistant]

They blasted it last night. Here's hoping there aren't further ramifications....

ETA: http://www.kait8.com/story/14557528/...o-breach-levee

Apparently they were only able to blow up part of it. One house has already received damage from the explosion.

[protege]

The part that irks me about the whole thing is that the mayor of Cairo instituted mandatory evacuations and people STILL refused. Really, people? I take it that you're going to be like the ones from New Orleans who refused to leave, then started crying to responders to help you first.

We have some of that here. Quite a few people insist on living right next to the rivers...and then bitch when there's flooding. For example, the Hays section of town gets flooded almost every time there's a heavy rain. When it rains hard, the stream (Streets Run) usually backs up, flooding the road, basements, and has been known to even float cars out of the scrapyard The last time that happened, the city wanted to come in, buy up the houses, move people out of the area, and sink a deeper channel for the stream. It would have solved quite a few problems down there. Instead, the residents bitched and refused to leave. Now when it floods, they're the first to whine about it in the newspapers...because the "city didn't do anything"

[insertNameHere]

Well, in fairness they didn't because the plan didn't work, so they said piss on you guys. I give them credit for trying to do something.

Of course the one city around here has problems with not enough water pressure to save houses during a fire, and one resident got his hands on the city water plans and actually determined where they could strategically tap into some of the 8in water mains in the majorly affected areas and provide hydrants capable of delivering enough water to fight a fire. WITH MINIMAL COSTS... they didn't go for it.

[HYHYBT]

2) Farmland cannot be rebuilt as quickly as a house. Keep in mind - this is the most fertile land in the United States. This flooding will wash away the fertile topsoil and replace it with debris and sand. It will probably be an entire generation before the land is truly arable.

I'd always heard that flooding rivers were *good* for farmland, and that one problem with dams and levees is they prevent fresh silt deposits, making farmers buy fertilizer instead.

[Greenday]

I'd always heard that flooding rivers were *good* for farmland, and that one problem with dams and levees is they prevent fresh silt deposits, making farmers buy fertilizer instead.

Maybe before a dam is built, this is true. But once a dam is built, to destroy it means a ton of water is going to wash away all the top soil and it'll take years for it to become fertile again.

[lordlundar]

I'd always heard that flooding rivers were *good* for farmland, and that one problem with dams and levees is they prevent fresh silt deposits, making farmers buy fertilizer instead.

Natural flooding is as it's usually a relatively slow rising of the water level beyond it's normal levels for a time. This breaks ups the ground and deposits nutrients and refills any nearby aquifers. Then the water gradually recedes leaving the broken up, nutrient-laden earth behind. The end result is fertile topsoil.

When a dam or levee is ruptured and a flood is produced, it's extremely fast moving water that just takes the already broken up earth down to the hard earth and doesn't stay around long enough to break it up or deposit nutrients.

[HYHYBT]

Got it. Thanks for the clarification.