KANSAS CITY — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the great Missouri River flood of 2011 is over. Now that water has uncovered levees, the Corps can gauge the damages to the levees and dams, said Col. Anthony Hofmann, Kansas City District commander. There is some water still trapped in flood plains or draining through breaks in the levees, he said. Because of financial cutbacks, the Corps says it won’t be able to repair every levee or dam. Hoffman said the Corps will assign priorities to repairs based on safety considerations. Early estimates place damage at about $1 billion. The Corps has about $28 million available for repairs. Monday, governors of states along the Missouri River met via a telephone conference to discuss the flood and managing the river. However, the governors diagreed, exposing a long-running dispute among the states. The Associated Press reported that states downstream urged that the ]Corps make flood control the top priority for how the Corps manages the big upper Missouri River reservoirs. States on the upper Missouri objected. Those states depend on the reservoirs for water supplies, irrigation and recreation.
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 8 a.m.
