Butler County officials assessed damage on Thursday along levees and roads near the still flooded Black River.
Presiding commissioner Vince Lampe and western district commissioner Dennis "Boots" LeGrand visited some of the most affected areas to get an idea of the devastation on county infrastructure caused by now several days of high water.
"We've got several levee breaches, lots of road damage and we are not looking forward to trying to get it all repaired. It is going to be a very costly deal and I hope maybe we can get some federal or state help on this," Lampe said.
LeGrand adds that the fixes will take time and county officials ask for the community's patience.
"I just hope the public understands we are not going to get it all fixed in a couple weeks. It is going to take a little while, because we've got damage everywhere," he said.
While there is no way to put a monetary figure on the damage at this point, costs will likely be in the millions.
Levees
At least six levee breaches have been identified at this time, and more may be hidden by high water.
The commissioners on Thursday visited two breaches near each other, where County Road 607 meets the river. The Missouri National Guard and a number of volunteers were still placing sandbags there Thursday in anticipation of another crest Friday due to the most recent rain.
"On 607 there are two bad spots," Lampe said. "The county is trying to maintain one their self and the national guard and volunteers are sandbagging on the other. The one on 607 is a large hole and it's going to be hard to get it filled up enough to keep water from coming in if we get a 19-foot river.
"Hopefully we will keep the river down around 17-18 feet," he said.
Other breaches have been identified near county roads 605, 602 and two near Coon Island in the southern part of the county. With county resources stretched due to the flooding events, LeGrand said the commissioners are grateful for the efforts of volunteers.
"All the help we have had and how people have volunteered and everything else, they don't know how we appreciate it because this has been a huge job. We thank everybody who has come out and helped us," he said.
In light of the recent damage, the commissioners say the county flood-control plan will be revisited. However, any future action depends on cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who oversee management of the river.
"I have been trying to get with the corps of engineers to see if they can help fund some money on this since I have been in office. I don't know if everybody's budget is stretched, but we have a lot of levees that need repair," Lampe said.
LeGrand adds that a lack of maintenance in clearing log jams from the river exasperated flooding issues.
"The river itself, if you have ever been down it, it is so log-jammed up. And that makes it hard for this water to get out of here and that just makes it back up worse. We've really got to get with the Corps and get some help," LeGrand said.
"We've got to get the river cleaned out a lot better than what it is," he said.
Roads
A number of county roads also remained underwater or heavily damaged on Thursday. A more than 200-foot section of County Road 611 has been washed out and is impassible. The crossing over Ackerman Ditch on County Road 316 was devastated, as was another crossing on County Road 320.
The bulk of those repairs will likely fall on the shoulders of Butler County taxpayers if some form of outside assistance is not granted.
"We've got several, several tons of gravel that is going to have to be replaced. Then we also have to keep the maintenance up on our roads once it is replaced. Our budget is not that large to do all that. We've just got a long road ahead," Lampe said.