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The Tri States – Those who live and work along the Mississippi River are still waiting for something to be done to improve flood control.
The Flood of 2008 was the third major flood on the river in less than two decades. Yet Congress has not agreed to provide money to implement a flood control plan for the Upper Mississippi.
Kim Robinson, Executive Director of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois & Missouri Rivers Association (UMIMRA), acknowledges the plan is expensive. But she says cleaning up from repeated floods is even more expensive.
"Are we going to spend $20 billion cleaning up after every flood or are we going to fix the problem?" Robinson says.
Her organization cites a report from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which found that every $1 spent on flood control will generate a five-fold economic return on the cost of making the improvements.
UMIMRA is applauding the Illinois General Assembly's support for Senate Joint Resolution 87. It outlines the importance of flood control on the Upper Mississippi and calls on Congress to authorize and fund the flood control plan.
Robinson hopes the General Assembly's action will increase awareness of the issue.
"I think it's significant that the Illinois General Assembly said, 'We've been through this now in 1993 and again since then, and if there is a plan out there that will allow us to avoid that, then this is something Congress ought to be looking at,'" says Robinson.
UMIMRA says the US Army Corps of Engineers completed its flood control study in 2008, 15 years after it was authorized by Congress. The Army Corps found that flood control can be accomplished, but Congress has yet to give its stamp of approval to the plan.
UMIMRA says the nation is thus no more prepared for a major flood on the Upper Mississippi than it was in 1993. The group also says it's just a matter of time before the next major flood strikes.
Robinson says UMIMRA has been around since the 1950s. Its membership includes local governments, farmers, business people, and property owners. She says it started as a flood control group but over the years it has also addressed other river-related issues.