Tony Dean ...
Outdoors, Inc.
1013 North GrandPierre, SD 57501
(605) 224-5104
FAX (605) 224-2977
Tony Dean Outdoors
Articles
Flood Control Act to be Rewritten
Flood law requires a revision
State lost 500,000 acres after 1944 law enacted
By Tony Dean
For the Argus Leader
PUBLISHED: January 16, 2008
I wonder if there's a successful company in our area that uses a 65-year-old business plan.
That's what the Corps of Engineers does in the operation of the Missouri River reservoirs, which has led the Wildlife Societies of both Dakotas (as well as the office of Gov. Mike Rounds) to seek a re-write of the antiquated Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944.
Al Sapa of Bismarck, a recently retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ecological expert, is leading the effort with colleagues in the North Dakota chapter of the Wildlife Society. Sapa told me he's working closely with Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., to direct the effort because it will require congressional action.
Though also retired, John Cooper, the former Secretary of South Dakota's Game, Fish and Parks Department, continues to work on Missouri River issues for Rounds.
He notes the Pick-Sloan Act flooded huge amounts of land in both Dakotas to prevent major floods in downstream cities such as Omaha, Kansas City and St. Louis. Cooper told me that there's a need for a congressional investigation.
The Missouri Basin Program authorized flood control, navigation, irrigation, hydropower, water supply, water quality, recreation and fish and wildlife as authorized project purposes. Based on history, the Corps of Engineers has prioritized in the order of the above listing.
Upper Basin states were promised 4 million acres of irrigation development. Some 950,000 acres were to be located in South Dakota for the permanent flooding of over 500,000 acres of the best farm and ranch land in the state. Tribal towns were relocated and trust lands containing significant cultural resources were lost to the rising waters.
Those who drew the plan believed irrigation would bring a projected hauling of 12 million tons of grain and other products annually on tows and barges from Sioux City to St. Louis.
Of course, the irrigation promises failed to materialize, and just 2 percent has become reality. Instead, the majority of the irrigation development took place in Nebraska and Kansas.
The end result is that the 12 million tons of commodities that were to be transported via barges peaked at 3.3 million tons in 1977, and the trend has been downward ever since. Generally, the $31 billion in flood damages saved since dam construction largely benefited downstream states.
Hydropower was to be the second major benefit. But it was still considered secondary to navigation, which has become the tail that wags the reservoir management dog. We are now in the seventh year of drought, and The Western Area Power Association has had their ability to meet power demands severely impacted by a lack of water storage.
That costs consumers money, because since January 2004, rates to wholesale water customers increased by 37.3 percent - due in part to reduced reservoir levels.
Fortunately, one authorized use has shown explosive growth in the upper basin, and that's recreation. To illustrate that growth, consider that in 1954, there were about 4 million visitor hours on the mainstem reservoirs - and 10 years later, the number exceeded 10 million. By the late 1990s, recreation on the impoundments increased to more than 60 million visitor hours.
The Corps estimates the value of recreation on the Missouri River to be worth $80 to $100 million annually. A joint government study in 1995 figured recreation on just the South Dakota Missouri River reservoirs at $36 million annually.
Meanwhile, low water levels have caused problems for boaters, with the state spending $4.5 million over a five-year period chasing water. At one point in 2004, only 11 boat ramps remained in service. Boaters left Oahe for other waters, cutting a $25 million annual industry in half.
Revising the Flood Control Act of 1944 would obviously benefit recreation, but it must receive congressional approval. I can't imagine any of our delegation doing anything but working hard to make that happen.
Tony Dean has twice been honored as South Dakota Conservationist of the Year by the South Dakota and National Wildlife Federation and the South Dakota Wildlife Society. He writes a weekly column for the Argus Leader.
Flood Control Act to be Rewritten
