The simmering issue of what to do about flooding in the city of De Soto is about to come to a full boil.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting Thursday, June 20, to discuss its draft report on the Upper Joachim Creek Floodplain study launched 16 months ago. The meeting is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. at the De Soto High School Auditorium, 815 Amvets Drive.
City officials and the local Citizens for Flood Relief organization have reviewed the report and have begun sounding alarms about the Corps’ findings and recommendations.
Of particular concern is the new, official flood map of the city, developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and based on years of flood data, resident input and hydrological studies.
The map shows a large increase in the official “floodway,” which encompasses properties that have suffered repeated flooding. FEMA defines a floodway as “the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than a designated height.” The enlarged floodway takes in dozens of homes and some businesses, including some on Main Street.
Paula Arbuthnot, co-director of Citizens for Flood Relief, spoke at the May 20 City Council meeting and noted that USACE is recommending that some homes and businesses be bought out – through a combination of local, state and federal funding – and that others be raised up by 3 feet to avoid future floods.
“I was expecting all these houses in the floodway to be recommended for buyout instead of being raised,” Arbuthnot said. “There are houses on that list that the Army Corps valued at $35,000, and they want to spend $50,000 raising it up 3 feet. What is the point of that?”
She said the buyout of dozens of properties, including some businesses, would have “a severe economic impact on the future of De Soto” and was “far more surprising than I was ever expecting.”
The other co-director of the citizens’ committee, Susan Liley, also spoke at the council meeting and was more blunt.
“It’s so much worse than we ever could have seen before; I’m in shock at what’s happened,” she said. “When this all comes out, and you see what’s going to happen to our town, we’ve all got to work together and I’m begging you all to work together. We can’t let it go like it is.”
Councilman Larry Sanders said the new flood map was an eye-opener for him as well.
“Until I saw that map, I did not realize how many people were impacted,” he said. “It was amazing. I just didn’t have any idea it was that many houses.”
Arbuthnot said the citizens’ committee, in its comments back to USACE on the report, is urging the Corps to open a second phase of the project for more detailed study and planning, including more precise computer modeling of the floodway and the broader floodplain. A Phase II, she said, also could open up avenues for obtaining tax dollars to fund the buyouts, provided the public outcry was strong enough.
“That’s what the Phase II flood study normally does,” she said. “It brings everybody back to the table again and then you start really advocating for those tax dollars. If we stop at Phase I, we won’t get anything done.”
De Soto City Manager Todd Melkus said after the meeting that the city would provide its own feedback to USACE and that much of it would reinforce the view of the citizens’ committee.
“Like they said, it reiterates the need for a continuation of this study,” Melkus said. “This can’t end here. We have to have a phase II; we have to get as much help from the Corps and everybody else as we can.
“This is where the difficult part begins. Once the study comes out, it’s going to be an eye-opener for the community. Local government wants to do everything it can, but it’s going to take state and federal (help). It’s going to take a little bit from a lot of people.”
The city formally requested assistance in an April 15 letter to county, state and federal lawmakers.
“We’ve received a few emails back (in response), saying, ‘Thank you, keep us posted, we look forward to seeing the report,’” Melkus said. “It could be an eye-opener for them also.
“We’re all trying to figure out what the next step is. We want to keep the Corps and everybody working for us as much as we can.”
Liley said the St. Louis District of USACE is expected to post the draft report on its project website as early as today (Thursday). The website address is mvs.usace.army.mil/missions/programs-project-management/joachimcreek.