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Arkansas lawmakers, federal officials review massive Arkansas River flooding and levee repairs
Summary
A joint meeting of multiple Arkansas legislative committees heard federal and state officials describe the spring Arkansas River flood, federal disaster aid, levee damage and next steps. Witnesses urged reorganizing defunct levee districts, pursuing federal mitigation dollars and quick technical help for local districts.
A joint session of several Arkansas legislative committees heard testimony from federal and state officials on the scope of spring flooding along the Arkansas River and immediate steps for recovery.
Congressman Bruce Westerman, invited to give a federal perspective, described widespread rainfall across Oklahoma and the Upper Arkansas basin and said releases from upstream reservoirs were necessary to avoid catastrophic dam failures. "We saw flows in excess of 600,000 cubic feet per second," Westerman said, describing levels far above normal and noting significant damage to levees, pump stations and the navigation system. He cited a Corps backlog of critical maintenance for the McClellan‑Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System that he said totals in the hundreds of millions.
The meeting brought detailed program numbers from state emergency management. AJ Gary, director of the Division of Emergency Management, said 13 counties were designated for individual assistance and reported FEMA disaster assistance approvals of $8,597,851 for individual and household programs; he gave a rough public‑assistance (infrastructure) damage estimate of about $15,360,000 with a breakdown for debris removal, emergency protective measures, roads and utilities. Gary said FEMA, SBA and USDA remain primary federal channels for assistance and listed SBA loan approvals and pending applications.
County judges and the Association of Arkansas Counties described emergency actions taken locally — sandbagging, temporary coffer dams and ad‑hoc repairs — and warned many small levy (levee) districts are defunct or not reporting. Conway County Judge Jimmy Hart said the system is "only as good as your weakest link," urging consolidation of contiguous districts and more rapid state technical support. Bruce Holland of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission outlined the governor's levy task force and subcommittees, saying the task force will inventory levees, recommend organizational fixes and pursue pathways into federal programs so affected communities can qualify for rebuilding funds.
Representatives of the Corps of Engineers briefed lawmakers on reservoir levels, flood releases and levee inspections; the Corps said it had inspected multiple levees and identified several candidates for federal repair funding but that congressional supplemental funds and national demands will affect construction timing.
Lawmakers asked for clearer deadlines and follow‑up briefings; the session closed with the task force and Corps pledged to provide additional data and with the Legislature signaling readiness to consider statutory changes to make levy districts functional and eligible for state and federal support.
