Missouri River Flood Management and Recovery Efforts

Prior to the critical start of the 2012 spring runoff season, and on the heels of historic 2011 flooding along the Missouri River, five levee breaches from Council Bluffs south to just below the Missouri state line, have been restored by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Between Levee Units 575 near Percival and Hamburg, and 550 near Watson and Rockport, Missouri, 2.7 million cubic yards of material were placed in 86 days, with contractors working around the clock to complete final repairs on Levee Unit 575.

Late last fall, members of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) toured the Missouri River flood damaged areas near Hamburg with the State Interagency Missouri River Authority (SIMRA), local farmers, and representatives from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa Army Corps of Engineers. The group saw first-hand where historic spring and summer flooding breached levees south and west of Hamburg, creating large devastation areas impacting local residents, businesses, utilities and farm owners, with the path of flood waters severely damaging  homes, valuable farm land, grain structures and the environment. Photos of flood damage in these areas were documented by IUB Customer Service and Communications Manager Don Tormey.

SIMRA is a policy group of five state agencies (including the IUB) and the Governor's office that promotes Iowa's many interests in the management of the Missouri River. The IUB’s role is to collaborate on SIMRA issues and represent the IUB at the group’s meetings. Amy Christensen of the IUB regularly communicates with utilities regarding SIMRA topics. To be added to this e-mail list, contact her at: Amy.Christensen@iub.iowa.gov.

The IUB is part of the Missouri River Flood Recovery Coordination Task Force. Formed by Governor Branstad, and led by the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD), this task force coordinates Iowa's Missouri River flood recovery efforts The IUB coordinates the utility work group and contributes to the levee group and larger tasks. Kerri Johannsen is the lead IUB staff on the Governor’s task force and utility work group. She may be contacted at: Kerri.Johannsen@iub.iowa.gov. On overlapping issues, IUB staff is coordinating between SIMRA, the Governor’s task force, and the task force work groups.    

Levee break SW of Hamburg	Levee break SW of Hamburg	Levee break SW of Hamburg	Levee break SW of Hamburg	Flooded farmland SW of Hamburg
Flooded farmland SW of Hamburg	Farm damage SW of Hamburg	Damaged silos SW of Hamburg	Damaged silos SW of Hamburg	Damaged silos SW of Hamburg
Abandoned farmhouse	Hwy 333 flood repair	Flood damaged Hwy 333	Levee near Hamburg	L575 Levee break near Hamburg
L575 Levee break near Hamburg	Flooded farmland North of Hamburg	L575 levee breach	SIMRA group	Flooded farm North of Hamburg
Flooded farm North of Hamburg	Flooded farm North of Hamburg	Flooded farm North of Hamburg	SIMRA group at flooded farm	SIMRA group at L575 levee break
SIMRA group at L575 levee break	Dead fish at L575 levee break	Scour hole near Percival	SIMRA group at scour hole near Percival	Flooded farmland near Percival
Flooded farmland near Percival	Giant scour hole near Percival	Flooded farmland near Percival	Flooded farmland and debris near Hamburg	Washed out road North of Hamburg
Washed out road North of Hamburg	Downed utility poles North of Hamburg	Flooded business on Hwy 2	Closed for business on Hwy 2	Flood-damaged home near Bartlett
Wilds Resort near Bartlett	Exterior damage to Wilds Resort near Bartlett	Interior damage to Wilds Resort near Bartlett	Wilds Resort near Bartlett	Wilds Resort near Bartlett
Wilds Resort near Bartlett