MILLS COUNTY, Iowa. (KMTV) — At the Missouri River, water levels aren't expected to hit flood stage... but farmers on both sides of the river say they're still feeling the impact more than 6 months later.
Iowa state leaders say it's now time to put a plan in motion for the next flood.
“When the Corps talks about maybe opening the gates a little bit more, I'm worried,” said Mills County Supervisor Carol Vinton. “I am really worried."
Like so many others across Iowa and Nebraska, Vinton says she has serious concerns about levee systems along the Missouri River.
"Winter is around the corner. We have families that want to know where are they going to go, what are they going to do because they did not have time to plan,” said Vinton. “This water came in at such a fast rate."
Iowa Congressman Steve King, Representative Jon Jacobsen and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers met with stakeholders. Many are local farmers who are still dealing with the effects of the march floods.
"They want to do more than vent, they want to fix this problem so their children and grandchildren can hang onto the land that they own today and not have to be faced by the floods that they've been suffering--multiple floods over the last especially decade," said Congressman King.
The goal was to bring everyone together in hopes of developing a better plan for future flooding.
"Our number one priority is life safety in the systems and we encourage everybody to continue to stay in contact with their local emergency management folks to ensure they know what's going on on their section of the river,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. John Hudson. “It varies quite a bit depending on where you are in the river."
Col. Hudson says the Corps has been approaching the problem in 3 phases: closing active breaches, restoring systems and looking at how systems can be improved in the future.
