Corps-led Little Blue River study finds sizable flood risk; plan would use dry dams, habitat restoration and federal funds

Summary

Presenters told the Lee's Summit City Council that the multi-jurisdiction feasibility study estimates about $29 million in expected annual flood losses and recommends a package of dry dams, restoration and buyouts; local governments would provide lands and long‑term maintenance while federal funding could cover about 65% of construction costs.

Tom Jacobs of the Mid-America Regional Council told the Lee's Summit City Council on July 7 that a multi-community feasibility study led with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified more than $1 billion in flood‑risk exposure across the Little Blue River watershed and estimates roughly $29,000,000 in expected annual damages when modeled over a 50‑year probabilistic period.

"We've identified more than a billion dollars of flood risk in this watershed," Jacobs said during a presentation outlining the study's tentative selected plan. He described two chief objectives: ecosystem restoration and flood‑risk reduction.

The plan presented to council members combines nonstructural measures (buyouts and elevations), targeted habitat restoration in Lee's Summit (about 17 acres of forest plantings, roughly 2 acres of herbaceous/prairie plantings and…

Corps-led Little Blue River study finds sizable flood risk; plan would use dry dams, habitat restoration and federal funds

Summary

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