# Levees-Good idea, except....



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Living right between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers can be a little challenging at times, especially when dealing with the Army Corps of engineers, various governmental bodies and land developers.

Over the last 10 years or so, St Charles County, Mo., which is right across from me on the Mississippi, started allowing developers to develop river bottom land for commercial usage. They said the additional tax revenues would more than pay for the levees needed and would benefit them by increasing tax revenue.

So they and the Corps built a lot levees, some small, some pretty good size.

With the recent floods, one of the smaller levees was over-topped but not breached. It just so happens that this flooded the only road from the Golden Eagle ferry into St. Charles/St Louis.

The river has dropped almost 3' below where the ferry can operate but the road remains flooded and the water can't drain out.

Now, we're a small county, about 4500 all told. We don't have a lot of influence with governmental agency and most of our county commissioners just don't have the experience to stand up to the likes of the Corp., well-off developers and big city politicians.

Our side of the river is bluffs and flooding usually is just an inconvenience more than anything. Little damage, except for those idjits that built river front cabins.

But it seems mighty dumb to convert prime farm land into commercial usage and housing by building levees, especially on ground that had up to 18' under water in 1993. That water is going to go somewhere, and when it's forced to go up, it gets pretty insistent about going down.

But, I guess some people think the almighty tax dollar can out-shout/out-smart Mother Nature. And the big-mouths developers/politicians always try to bully the smaller people into going along with their scheme.

Meantime, here we sit, all dressed up and no place to go.

Ralph


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

> I guess some people think the almighty tax dollar can out-shout/out-smart Mother Nature.


And Ma Nature keeps showing them she is a much bigger power. The dummy's never seem to learn.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

New Orleans seems to do well. No major floods there. Oh. Wait. Never mind.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

deadmoose said:


> New Orleans seems to do well. No major floods there. Oh. Wait. Never mind.


Wish the corp woulda just took the existing levees and pushed em into the city and cover that nasty ass city up with levee dirt...


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