As water levels continue to rise along the Missouri River, Boone County towns prepare for potential flood damage due to the release of water along multiple Missouri dams. The Boone County Public Works Department is using sandbags in areas such as Easley, Rocheport and Wilton to prevent major flooding in towns along the river.
“The release of water from reservoirs further up the Missouri River by the Army Corps of Engineers is creating the potential for problems in Boone County, which have fortunately not yet been realized,” Boone County spokesman Lamar Henderson said. “Part of the problem is that the extra water from the reservoirs is being released over a fairly extended period of time.”
Water releases that could occur over time will cause communities to be on alert for flooding problems longer, even into the fall season.
“The way that we are dealing with the flooding would be sandbagging and relocating people out of flood areas,” Boone County Fire Protection District Chief Scott Olsen said. “There is some potential for areas to be affected and that’s why we created the plan to put in place the sandbagging effort.”
The U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers began releasing water from local dams and will continue to do so throughout the next several months to release pressure that could potentially cause more damage.
Some potential problems could include business and property damage for residents of Boone County.
“It looks like there will be some minor flooding by the end of the week, especially in the McBaine, Wilton and Easley areas, but really not anything that we’re aware of in the Hartsburg or Huntsdale areas,” said Steven Sapp, Columbia Office of Emergency Management spokesman. “The projected flooding appears at this point to be fairly minor in nature, but the fact is that it will possibly close some road ways, but no immediate impact on buildings or homes at this point.”
The immense amount of rain that has fallen on Boone County and other parts of Missouri is the largest problem for the flood plans. If the rain continues, the Army Corps will continue to release water from the reservoirs, creating more flooding.
“Our understanding about water releases on the river is that the Corps will be releasing water through the summer, perhaps the fall,” Henderson said.
The Army Corps of Engineers did not respond to requests for comment.
The threat of flooding could persist into fall. Barriers supported by plastic and sandbags have been created in many sections of the river to block some of the water.
“The more water you release, obviously the greater the potential for changes along the river,” said Anthony Lupo, MU Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences professor. “When the water comes down, it can carve out new paths that it will follow. Sometimes it will uncover stuff that may have been buried for as many as thousands of years and in the process burying things that were exposed presently and will now be buried for a long time.”
Travel plans aside, Olsen said MU students will not be affected by potential flooding.
“The only thing that could affect the University of Missouri is the traveling for students, but in general, it shouldn’t affect the campus,” Olsen said.
