This story is Mississippi River Basin Agriculture and Water Deskan independent reporting network based in . University of Missouri In cooperation with Report for Americais generously funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
Cities and towns in the Mississippi River Valley have always had to weather the environmental disasters that come with living along the river.
In recent years, wild fluctuations in floods and droughts have added to the stress on communities located along 3,350 miles of the Mississippi River.
In the past five years alone, they have seen: spring flood, flash flood, severe droughtand river water level is lowboth ends of this spectrum can occur in the same calendar year.
„When disasters occur on these rivers, they don’t stop within the rivers,“ said Colin Wellenkamp, executive director of the Mississippi River Cities Initiative. „It’s causing damage to many businesses, homes, sidewalks, and roads, including broadband conduits and all types of utilities, mains, and water systems.“
The cost of these damages can reach millions, if not billions.
![](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20231203_ES_River-Des-Peres-2-min.jpg)
![](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20231203_ES_River-Des-Peres-2-min.jpg)
Eric Schmidt / St. Louis Public Radio
Wellenkamp encourages the organization’s 105 individual communities to consider working with the river rather than against it.
„Almost every city has some kind of entrance to the Mississippi River and is built around it,“ he says. „Some are big, some are very small. But they all require attention.“
It’s not a new idea, and Many cities are already investing in nature-based solutions. Removal of pavement, construction of wetlands, creation of space for rivers, etc. Now, St. Louis is trying to learn from its Missouri neighbor, Dubuque, Iowa, about what the city can do with the Des Peres River.
„It’s just an eyesore.“
„It’s just an eyesore,“ said Beatrice Chatfield, 15, who was walking along the Des Peres River pedestrian and bicycle greenway with her mother, Jen. „It’s filled with trash and debris and mud. It’s just gross all around.“
It’s not so much a river as a large concrete-and-stone-lined drainage canal that winds its way through the cityscape from the Mississippi River before disappearing beneath Forest Park, St. Louis‘ largest park. It then reappears further west in the University City suburbs.
„It’s basically a smaller version of the Los Angeles River, just a cesspool,“ said Sam Lane, 29. surely. “
![A stream flows through the well-kept lawns of the tidy town.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/BeeBranch.jpg)
![A stream flows through the well-kept lawns of the tidy town.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/BeeBranch.jpg)
City of Dubuque
It can also be dangerous, Wellenkamp says.
„When the Mississippi River rises, the Des Peres River starts to flow back into people’s basements and yards, and small businesses are washed away into the city,“ he says.
Several 300 houses flooded When the St. Louis area suffered, University City alone record heavy rain Wellenkamp argues that St. Louis should look to other cities in the Mississippi River Valley that have learned to work with water, rather than against it.
Dubuque’s hidden creak
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dubuque, Iowa experienced major flash flooding problems. The city of about 60,000 people has received presidential disaster declarations six times in 12 years for flooding and severe storms.
Dubuque Mayor Brad Kavanaugh said every time heavy rain floods the city, water will run down cliffs and overwhelm stormwater infrastructure.
Water pressure erupted from manhole covers, turning roads into streams and damaging thousands of buildings.
„About 100 years ago, someone filled in a natural stream and turned it into a storm drain, and it just couldn’t hold it anymore,“ Cavanagh said. „Many of the residents[in these areas]are low- to moderate-income, and they are the people who have the hardest time actually recovering from this kind of damage.“
Around 2001, the city started looking for a solution.
Dubuque had to decide whether to expand the existing underground storm drain or bring Bee Branch Creek back into the sunlight and widen the floodplain to give the water somewhere to go. The city chose the latter option.
![A stone bridge spans the stream.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/bee-branch-fishing_0-min.jpg)
![A stone bridge spans the stream.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/bee-branch-fishing_0-min.jpg)
City of Dubuque
The city established a citizen advisory committee early in the process that played a central role in determining the final design of the restored Bee Branch Creek.
Cavanagh said residents wanted more than a concrete drain. They wanted trails, grass, greenery and, importantly, access to water for both wildlife and people to enjoy, he added.
Bee Branch Creek has become a 20-year project and much more than just an engineering solution to excess stormwater, Cavanagh said.
„This is one of the most beautiful parks in the city, where people go to see ducks and birds,“ he said.
Most importantly, the city’s flash flooding problem has been resolved, said Deron Mulling, director of Dubuque’s Water and Resource Restoration Center. Prior to that role, he was an engineer who worked on the Bee Branch restoration from start to finish.
„2011 was the last presidential disaster declaration we had,“ he said. „We don’t have rain of that magnitude now, but we did have a major storm that would have caused flooding and inundation damage without these improvements.“
Learn from Dubuque
Other river cities want to see Dubuque’s success and see how it can be applied to their own flooding problems, Cavanagh said.
“As mayor, I have talked about this project more than anything else,” he said. „People want to know ‚how did you do it?‘ Why did you do it? What worked and what didn’t?“
Mr. Cavanagh explained these details: presentation In December, he presented a report on the Honeybee Branch to St. Louis aldermen who were looking for ways to apply the lessons from the Des Peres River.
Ward 1 Councilwoman Anne Schweitzer was inspired by the idea.
„I was wishing all day long that something like this had started sooner,“ Schweitzer said. „But we’re here now, and we have a responsibility. The time something takes always feels so long, but it takes even longer if we don’t start.“
Time is not the only constraint. The same goes for money. Dubuque’s Bee Branch came with a price tag of nearly $250 million. The city discovered that Mix of state and federal grants Costs related to disaster resiliency, environment, transportation, recreation and tourism will total $163 million, with the city’s share of about $87 million, Cavanagh said.
Midwest Climate Change Director Heather Navarro said floodplain restoration projects like Bee Branch are worth the investment.
![A green bridge stretches over a dark stream.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/rdp-bridge_0.jpg)
![A green bridge stretches over a dark stream.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/rdp-bridge_0.jpg)
„We’ve done a lot of work paving over floodplains and wetlands, and we know there’s a lot of inherent natural value there,“ she said. „It absorbs floodwaters, it filters pollution, it reduces soil erosion. When you start adding up those numbers, that’s when the economic picture really starts to change.“
She added that cities should leverage nature-based solutions and consider ways to reduce flooding and other climate risks when improving existing infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewage management. I did.
„We’re not replacing old infrastructure with new infrastructure,“ Navarro said. For example, rain gardens can reduce pressure on wastewater drainage by absorbing excess water. Wood can reduce heat. „We’re taking a completely new approach to how this infrastructure interacts with the other systems we’re trying to serve the community.“
And there it is billions of dollars are on the table Under the bipartisan Infrastructure and Inflation Control Act, we will help communities tackle projects that build resilience.
way to proceed
As it stands, St. Louis is just beginning to consider what a project that would bring more nature to the Des Peres River might look like.The US Army Corps of Engineers also Explore projects especially in University Citywhich could help store rainwater during heavy rains.
The next big step will be a feasibility study for the entire Des Peres River basin, including a handful of municipalities, Schweitzer said.
“There are a lot of people who need a seat at the table to move something like this forward, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” she said.
Navarro said there’s never been a better time for cities like St. Louis to use natural infrastructure to reduce flood risk.
“We know that climate change is impacting our communities,” she said. “We know that the way we have been doing things has partially contributed to where we are in the climate crisis.”
Wellenkamp agrees.
“Nature attracts business,” he said. „Property values stabilize. It reduces crime. It creates resilience to disasters and extreme events. And it improves the quality of life in your location.“