COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA (KMTV) — After meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers, the governors of Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri and Lt. Governor of Kansas says all four states are on the same page, with the goal of cleaning up the damage and preventing future flooding.
"What we really want to do though is make sure we're working together as a team to accomplish those things so we're on the same page,” says Nebraska Governor, Pete Ricketts.
Ricketts says they made a three-phase plan. The first step is a short term fix. On that end, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says four contractors have been hired to plug major holes that accelerated the flooding in Iowa and that'll be done by mid-summer.
The next phase is taking intermediate steps, like addressing choke points along bridges, Highway 2 and Highway 34 in Iowa, were mentioned as priorities.
"Addressing some of the choke points on the river that would allow for more of that flow to go through and prevent some of the backup we saw this time around,” says Ricketts.
Then the long term plan, which could take years. This would focus on managing the river in a different way, as well as adding capacity to the river, like building higher levees.
"That we really do protect property and lives and that's the number one priority of the management of the Missouri River that should always be the top priority over all others,” says Missouri Governor, Mike Parson.
The corps told the governors they have money to address the major breaches, but they need plenty more funding for the repair and recovery process.
"It's critical that congress act to get the appropriation so we can start with the recovery process. All along the system, our farmers, our businesses, our community are extremely vulnerable because all along the system it's been compromised up and down,” says Reynolds.
