Posted by stephen adler on March 31, 2018, 12:55 pm, in reply to "Re: Rain Water"
Chairman Prenzler and new MESD board did suggest that I make more effort to communicate with residents on social media. I was sent in to find out why we flood regularly, and why MESD is insolvent. While politics is a part of life, I was given the freedom to fix MESD. We have made some changes. I found we have some talented people hamstrung by leadership issues; some have even been promoted.
The key to flooding in the in the northern section of the American Bottoms is controlling the levels of Horseshoe and Long lakes. Horseshoe Lakes normal level is elevation 404. Most of Mitchell and Pontoon drain into Long Lake which is around 410. So I have six feet of elevation to work with. In civil engineering, draining a mile of water by gravity with only six feet of drop and no conduits is...a challenge. There are no conduit connections, although Randy Presswood and his staff restablished a silted-in ditch last summer after our analysis. Elm Slough is where most the water flows between the lakes near KMOX.
Keeping Horseshoe Lake as low as possible, At 402 feet, now I have 8 feet to work with, instead of 6. Doesn't sound like much,but that's that's a 25% increase in potential elevation. Large amounts of water mover 25% faster. And by storing 782,400,000 gallons of water with each foot of lake level, now we're getting somewhere.That's the the secret, flat out.
Most taxpayers don't understand that yes the levee protects us from the river, but it cuts off all the natural drainage from the other side. Every drop of water that falls on the American Bottoms not evaporated must to be pumped over the levee we just created.
But now we have to pump it all out, and if our pump station has only 55% capacity, we have to store it in Horseshoe, not drain it from Horseshoe, lest our pump station be overrun with water, and then we pump nothing, anywhere.
That's the story of the flood of spring 2016, why Mr. Prenzler replaced the MESD board, and all that followed.
If you care about flooding in the American Bottoms, I want to state this loud and clear: Siltation is slowly eroding what little storage we have. I've already stated we can store 782,400,000 gallons of water for each foot of lake level at Horseshoe:
IF WE DONT DREDGE LONG AND HORSEHOE LAKES SOON, IT WONT MATTER. It's the only elasticity in the system. Most of Horseshoee Lake is ony 3 feet deep now. Dredging, with some intelligent conduits down Lake Drive, we could eliminate all but the most severe flooding in the Tri-City region. Really.
Call Congressman Bost All the local Mayors Helen Hawkins bless her heart. Chairman Prenzler and all the County Board Members Whatever party, it doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat... when you're up to your ankles in water and your toilet won't flush.
You pay a .25% sales tax towards flood protection. While levees are a priority, interior flooding is too.
Thanks for your time. The financial side of this levee district is also a big deal, with at least as much detail. We will discuss that another day. Thank You for your commitment to the people who run MESD. S
on March 31, 2018, 12:55 pm, in reply to "