University Daily Kansan
Levee, Channelization Protect Lawrence from Floods
By CHRIS CARSTENSON Kansan Staff Writer
Kansan Photo by TOM THRON
In the name of flood control, the City of Lawrence and the Army Corps are pouring over $8 million in construction of 20.3 miles of levee along the Kansas River and the Mississippi at 6.1 miles of Mud Creek.
while use it about slip to also man, Stolz, Otto San-
Inkman Bartel Adams Young
The project was authorized in not to produce a planned food supply of 8,000 acres of residential dustrial and agricultural lands. The project was proposed after a fee of $3,121,000 worth of damage. The same flood at present prices and costs would be about $9,750,000 worth of damage.
The role channelization plays in the package North Lawrence flood control program, however, or for some people to understand
According to Ron Klakatse, regional representative of the Audubon Society, channelization promotes basic principle of water management that land and conservati ons advocate.
THE THEORY of channelization, said J. H. Tomlinson the Foundation and Materials Bureau in Texas, who engineers, is to construct a well-engineered ditch which will minimize the "efficient" run-off of flood waters.
Silt in Mud Creek Channel Don Huggins of Biological Survey
"A narrow, meandering stream such as Mid Creek, would impede the flow of flood waters downstream," he said.
Mrs. Penny von Achen, president of the Jayhawk club recently on record said the club recently went on record that Mud Creek's channelization.
The National Audubon Society recently declared as one of its top conservation efforts the resistance of stream channels to water it was occurring. They refer to it as an "innusible program" that calls to self-perpetuating bureaerules.
"Nationally our organization is opposed to channelization." GCC officials in local Sierra Club said, "but our action against it has taken an action against the group."
The most noticeable result of this neuralization was the said, with the virtual disearance of the six-mile-long riffes of trees which exists along the riverbed.
BASICALLY, CHAN-
NELIZATION is a program of
converting streams into well-
engineered drainage ditches. All trees and vegetation with 100 feet
height will be bulldoled away. The trees will be widened to 40 feet and the creek's meanders straightened.
The Corps based the project on what it calls a "100 year probability." It calculates how high a flood will in any given 100 year period, and plans for protection at that height. The基金会 will protect North Lawrence from a flood of 1951 proportions.
SOME LAWRENCE citizens deny that channelization is needed as a part of the flood risk reduction plan, that a levee by itself would be sufficient to protect North Lawrence. They even deny that a flood of 1951 proportions could have been caused by the Hilman, research associate of the Kansas Geological Survey, said that with the recent construction of upstream dams, it is unlikely that of 1951 proportions could return.
The Corps of Engineers reports indicate, however, that Mud Creek is subject to intense and prolonged periods of rainfall. They note the existing channel of Mud Creek does not have sufficient capacity to carry the flood discharge, it is necessary to endure and enlarge the channel to prevent overtopping of the levee.
KLATASKE offered what he considered to be two "realistic alternatives" to destroying Mud and water course and water course. Both plans reject channelization. The first plan would build the levee higher. The second plan would build the far away from the stream itself.
"If the channel is not built, then that will increase the cost to build a levee." Tomlinson said.
most close to $1 million for Murdur Combat, the team that same dirt removed in digging out the war was to be used in building the level.
Hilman said that if the channel was not built, it would be possible for North Lawrence to bypass the channel's effectiveness and greater expense.
"If there is no channel, the dirt will have to be gotten from someplace else." Tomlinson said.
"WITHOUT THE CHANNEL, the project protection would not be as complete." he said.
Tomlinson said that the city of Lawrence had to spend more money for land purchase than they had expected.
"This raised complaints from citizens living in South Lawrence. He said, "They are money going to North Lawrence."
buy all that land, this would put the city council in a bad spot Tomlinson said.
Local environmentalists are concerned about channelization's damage to the environment. Tom Swearingen, a member of the Douglas County Coon Hunts Association, said from the point, "stream channelization is murder in the first degree."
But the city has already purchased the land. They bought land along the present creek and built a levy office there and dredge a new channel.
According to Swearingen, if Mud Creek is channelized, wildlife will suffer.
"The CORPS" project represents a dam-the environment mentality at work," Klataske said.
"Now if we come back and say we are not going to build the channel, and you didn't need to
"It would destroy over six miles in length of wildlife sup porting cover and feed," he said.
He said that Mud Creek provides as feeding grounds for rafters, foxes, mink and deer. Mud Creek also serves as a travel lane for these animals between the river and the hills north.
"What people have to realize," according to Bulford Watson, city manager. "is that Mud Creek is the dream but just a drainage" sigh.
However, Don Huggins of the Kansas Biological Survey, disagrees.
"It's definitely more than just a drainage ditch." he said. "a drainage one of the most biologically interesting streams in this area."
THE KANANS Biological Survey made a study of Mud Creek in the summer of 1970. Six students from this course. Hughes recorded 25 different kinds of fish in the different types of aquatic insects.
"It would be a shame to lose the character of the creek as it is when we were channelized portion wasn't nearly as interesting, biologically sound," he said.
Huggins has used the creek as a teaching aid for children during the museum of Natural History's Associate Summer Workshop.
Cross, director of the Kansas Biological Survey," There are no kinds of fish in the affected segment of Mud Creek that do not occur also in all other small streams of this area. I expect that the fish will still occupy the channelized section if it is completed."
KLATASKE SAID that there was also a possibility that Mud Creek will become non-flowing
"Because the creek's base will be widened to suit a great flow of water from Creek itself down from two years ago, this is a real possibility," he said. "We are also creating streams' riffle system. Riffles are the natural hatchings of fish."
According to Low Helm of the Basin Planning branch of the Army Corps of Engineers, the project's blueprints will not be widened to a great extent. Although this represents a complete change in what the project's blueprints call for, Helm says the Corps had changed its design.
SINCE THE NEW law went into effect, personnel of the Fish and Game Commission, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and the Corps of Resources Board and the city of Lawrence have met with representatives of the Corps. Together they discussed various environmental impacts which would lessen the environmental impact of the Mud Creek project.
"Now we build channels so that the base of the channel maintains about the same width the natural stream has already determined. This will eliminate some of the possibilities of the stream."
year. No, environmental statements were made, however, for the first two phases of the North Lawrence food system.
"Just how great the marine affect land, water, wildlife and fish will be revealed only to future generations." Hilppman
TOMLINSON ADDED,
however, that the top part of
the channel will be enlarged to
the planned 40 feet.
"I if I felt that a unique type of wildlife existed such that it would be possible for the creatures would be against it," he said. "But I don't think the losses from human activities will be small."
The Mud Creek project has been detained for a year because of the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969. Under this act, the Corps is required to file an environmental report on all projects they are engineering.
Less than two years ago, a small portion of Mud Creek was channelized.
"A tremendous load of silt has accumulated in this area." "Muggins said."
Recently, when he waded out to the middle of the channel, he sunk to his knees in silt.
Mud Creek's environmental statement is scheduled for completion before the first of the
Huggies wondered whether in another two years, the whole channel wouldn't fill completely with silt.
Swearingen described the site as "a big mud hole."
Although the main purpose of Mud Creek is flood protection of North Lawrence, Watson said the farmers also need to be thought of.
TOMLINSON SAID, however, this amount of silt load was probably true of all streams emplied into a big river. He said that the stream silt, which was found only in the channelized section, was in fact the result of channelization itself. He said the upper portion of Mud Creek, when channelized, would have great silt accumulation.
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"The farmers want flood control," he said. "They also don't like having a meandering stream flow through their land."
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Basic to the controversy is that North Lawrence violates a major principle of flood control, which it must to develop on the flood plain
Klatske said, however, that taxpayers paid more than $3 billion a year to keep 38 million acres of land out of cultivation.
"BUILDING ON a flood plain is an open invitation to disaster," Hilman said.
Swearingen said that crowding houses and factories onto the plain, made inevitable the building of a levee, thus forcing
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The major benefit for citizens of North Lawrence, however, is that when the project is completed, they will be able to obtain loans and loans for construction, they are unable to do so.
The situation at Mud Creek is not unusual. Streams are being channelized all over the country. The most recent project in this area was their attempt to construct the Plate River in Nebraska.
"I'm afraid that people oppose
Mud Creek just to get at the
"oops." Hillman said. "And in
the fall, you need facialization
is clearly indicated."
KLATASKE SAID of the Mud Creek project that the Corps "has to be stopped somewhere. We're not losing all our streams."
However, Hillman and Cross said that Mid Creek was a poor place to pick a battleground with the Corps.
According to Helm, the Corps will save some of the timber in oxbows. Also, some disturbed areas can be treated with a mixture of Kanlow and Blackwell switchgrass and reed grass that provide wildlife food and cover.
The trouble is you can't exactly trust the corps.' Korp is going to plant native grasses on the completed part of the levee. I went out later and discovered they had just planted brome grass.
Officially, the city of Lawrence is the project's sponsor. The city to provide North Lawrance with flood protection. In return the city agree to buy land all needed to build a livestock levee in good repair and hold the government harmless from destruction that might occur in the future.
IT COST THE city over $1 million dollars to purchase the land. In addition, $13,000 this year was budgeted to maintain the land. This included the purchase of a 4500 tractor for levee mowing.
Hipman stressed that people must realize there is no absolute right or wrong with this particular Mud Creek project. He
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Bill kink of the division of water resources of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, said that although the government had spent billions of dollars on flood insurance, flood damage still
Hilman said. "Without the channel, flooding would probably occur. There are cases that prove that if you have a channelize, there will be greater flooding."
"SINCE MUD CREEK will be confined so much, we need to get the water out of there fast."
The Corps also said that if just a levee was constructed, some buildings it would need to be raised with the widening of some bridges.
Tomlinson said, "If we started
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The environment will be changed, as the Corps and environmentalists admit, but the question is to what significant amount.
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