This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
Cities and towns across the Mississippi River basin have always had to endure the environmental challenges of living along a river. In recent years, there have been significant fluctuations between flooding and drought, adding more pressure to the communities nestled along the Mississippi’s 2,350 miles. In the last five years, they’ve experienced severe flooding, flash flooding, significant drought, and low river levels, with opposite ends of this spectrum sometimes occurring in the same calendar year.
“When these rivers have disasters, the disaster doesn’t stay in the river,” said Colin Wellenkamp, executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative. “It damages a lot of businesses, homes, sidewalks, and streets; even broadband conduit and all kinds of utilities, mains and water return systems.” The cost of those damages can run into the millions, if not billions.
One potential solution Wellenkamp encourages the 105 individual communities in his organization to consider is working with, rather than against, the river. He advises that, just about all of them have some sort of inlet into the Mississippi River that they’re built around and all of them need attention.
Many cities are already investing in nature-based solutions, such as removing pavement, building marshes, and making room for the river to flow. Now, St. Louis is looking to learn from other cities, such as Dubuque, Iowa, on what the city can do with its River Des Peres.
The River Des Peres is currently a concrete and stone-lined drainage channel that winds through the urban landscape before disappearing beneath St. Louis’ largest park, Forest Park. It then reemerges further west in the suburb of University City.
With increasing concerns about the River Des Peres and its impact on the community, there is inspiration drawn from Dubuque’s success in solving similar issues with the Bee Branch Creek. Dubuque faced significant flash flooding issues, which led to infrastructure damage and disaster declarations. A more than 20-year-long project to restore the Bee Branch Creek proved to be a success that not only resolved flash flooding issues but also turned the creek into a beautiful park where both wildlife and people could enjoy.
Dubuque’s success has drawn interest from other river cities looking for solutions to their own flooding challenges. St. Louis aldermen have shown interest in understanding and applying the lessons learned from Dubuque. While the cost for similar projects can be significant, there are available funding opportunities, such as grants and resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, to support floodplain restoration projects and other climate resiliency initiatives.
It’s clear that innovative, nature-based solutions are possible to address the challenges that river cities face. These solutions are not only effective in managing flooding and climate risks, but also have the potential to provide additional environmental and community benefits.