Thursday, May 15th 2008

The Kansas Cities' Levees: Past, Present & Future

Mr. Paul Barber,
Chief of Engineering (Ret.),
Kansas City District Headquarters
and
Mr. John J. Grothaus,
Chief, Plan Formulation Section,
Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The lecture is free, open to the public and will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the library's Main Reading Room.

This presentation addresses settlement in the Kansas City area and why levees were needed. Included in the discussion are timing and ownership of the levees; local, state and federal involvement in flood control development in the area; and the impact of major floods. The effectiveness of various flood control facilities (levees and upstream reservoirs) will be addressed regarding the 1903, 1951 and 1993 flood events.

The speakers will discuss the Pick-Sloan Plan (authorized by Congress in 1944) and modifications thereto authorized in 1954, which included an expansion of the previously authorized upstream reservoir system. The impact of the levee raises on the Kansas River levees (authorized in 1962) on the 1993 flood will be presented. Finally, the reasons for an eighth levee being added to the system, and what is needed in the future to maintain the integrity of the levees, will also be addressed.