Suggested changes to the operation of Clearwater Dam are among items to be studied for Butler County in the first phase of a long-awaited effort officials hope will help identify solutions for flood reduction.
Work is expected to begin next month in a study that was prompted by concern over logjams and debris officials believe are blocking the flow of the river south of Poplar Bluff.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers met Wednesday morning with Butler County commissioners, representatives of the city of Poplar Bluff and Levee District 7, as well as others to discuss the study.
“I think it’s a much-needed project,” said Presiding Commissioner Vince Lampe. “If you don’t get started some way, it’s never going to happen. This may not be the answers we want to hear, but we’ve got to know where we’re headed.”
Other aspects to be studied include how groundwater impacts and interacts with the river, said Jaysson Funkhouser, program manager with the Corps’ Little Rock District. Funkhouser expects to meet frequently with partners in the coming months to provide updates and gather information.
“I just want to make sure everyone understands, this doesn’t lead to a project. This is leading you in a direction where you’ll know where you need to go and if you can go somewhere,” said Funkhouser, explaining this provides data to discuss options.
Corps officials in 2015, when meetings began on the topic, said updated technical information would lay the foundation for future efforts.
Not many people do a million-dollar project unless they have a plan, Lampe added.
“That’s what this is,” he said.
The federal government is contributing $140,000 to the study, with $50,000 from the city of Poplar Bluff, $50,000 from Butler County, and the remainder from other partners.
A second phase will be needed to finish the study, which the Corps hopes to fund in early 2020. The Corps can provide 50/50 matching funds, Funkhouser said.
The project almost died in the spring, without ever getting off the ground, he explained.
A lawsuit filed early in 2019 by 131 Arkansas farmers over the Corps’ management of the White River and its tributaries, including the Black River, had stopped the study, according to the discussion. Missouri elected officials, contacted by a project sponsor, were able to resolve this, but the Corps will need to make some changes to the description of the scope of the project, Funkhouser said.
Another issue involved funding cycles for the Corps.
The Corps has $75,000 to contribute now and is working to reallocate money for the remainder of their share.
This will help fund the first portion of the phase 1 study, involving base flow and groundwater tables.
Partners have been asked to provide the full amount of their own shares as soon as possible, so that work can proceed as more Corps money becomes available.
“We have the word of headquarters that as soon as the money becomes available in October some time, they’ll make us whole,” said Funkhouser. “We still need all of your funds, with the understanding that we won’t spend more than $75,000 of it (before then).”