Its watershed encompasses one-sixth of the United States, according to a report from American Rivers, a nonprofit dedicated to river conservation.īut over decades, the river became one of the most “altered” in the nation, and in parts, is severely constrained.įor that reason, American Rivers named the Missouri one of the nation’s most endangered rivers of 2021. Historically, the Missouri River, the longest in North America, meandered across a wide path and floodplains. “Especially (after) two major floods in the last 10 years, we are kind of tired of seeing this happen,” Griffin said. 1 embarked on a levee “setback.” The community yielded more than 1,000 acres of private and public land to the Missouri River, moving the levee farther from the river’s banks and giving it room to swell during rainy years without overtopping the levees and overtaking farmers’ land. So last year, Atchison County Levee District No.
“I think for a lot of folks, they felt, ‘We gave up the ground to build the levee and we don’t want to give up any more ground,’ ” he said.īut after 2019, residents of Atchison County started looking at other options. The river breached levees in dozens of places, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.įor decades leading up to that flood, Griffin said, officials repeatedly built back levees - flood after flood. Parts of Atchison County, where Griffin lives, were under water for eight months. That year turned out to be one of the most severe floods in recent memory. Maybe the Missouri River would top its levees in a few places but spare his community. KANSAS CITY - As he watched the river forecasts in early 2019, Regan Griffin hoped for the best.
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