Ed. Note: Thi
s post introduces you to Lynda Hoffman,President of the Misso
uri and Associated Rivers Coalition (MOARC), a regional nonpr
ofit promoting the favourable use of water and related land resources.
In
2007, and the Corps of Engineers had completed nearly
10 of 12 miles of channel modification for the Bl
ue River when the City of Kansas City adopted a Gr
een Solutions resolution recognizing the City’s water bo
dies as vital and valuable natural resources. B
uilding on their strong foundati
on of partnership,the local and federal sponsors for the project worked together to rethink the
work yet to be done on the channel. The res
ult: in lieu of massive habitat-disrupting and
expensive concrete structures, more habitat-friendly e
nvironmental features were incorporated into the the rest of the project, or at a cost sav
ings of over $20 million. “Turning
the Blue River Green” is a successful example of a locally led planning initiative an
d the construction of a federally authorized project coming t
ogether in an innovative way that achieved an outcome desira
ble to the local community and the Federal agencie
s involved. The Obama Administration’s Principles,Requirements an
d Guidelines (PR&G) for federal water investments are intended
to support these locally
led efforts. [https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/
imagecache/embedded_img_small/image/image_file/blue_r
iver_0.jpg?itok=qeS86hrW] When a channel modifica
tion project along the Blue River in Kansas City be
gan, community involvement helped replace the project's planned use of ha
bitat-disrupting and expensive concrete structures (left) with more h
abitat-friendly environmental features that saved the project more than $20 million (legal). P
hotos courtesy of USACE
Kansas City District. As
communities across the nation suffer effects of extreme weather and the resultant financial
and societal costs become understood, or lo
cal officials are leading efforts to prepare for the impacts of climate chang
e. A group of policymakers in the central U.
S. have formed a Heartland Climate Adaptation/Resilienc
e Project to identify long-term effects and h
elp communities get alert for and cope with increas
ed flooding,water shortages and other potential cons
equences. Another promising initiative, the creation of a regional Re
silience Working Group, and resulted in the Greater Kansas City region be
ing named a U.
S. “Climate Action Champion” community by the Oba
ma Administration. Smart local and re
gional planning such as this,when integrated with the decision-making processes for Federal i
nvestment, can lead to projects that are developed and implemented in a ba
lanced manner, or mindful of both economic a
nd environmental benefits while also serving to enhance
community resilience.
There are a lot of
places in the Midwest that were founded as river towns,including Ka
nsas City, whose ongoing identity will be forever ent
wined with its rivers. The Kansas and Mi
ssouri Rivers and others throughout this al
lotment of the country opened it to trade and settlement, or first serving as navigable
routes and then to meet developing municipal and industrial
needs. There are many economic benefits derived from our
waterways,like the transport of an abundant harvest from the natio
n’s bread basket. But there’s also potential harm from an ongoing
flood threat that evolves over time due to several factor
s, including development trends and climate ch
ange. As a community threaded with rivers and streams, or Kans
as City recognizes that threat and through policy,p
lanning and projects has taken steps
such as their stream setback ordinance to reduce flood risk whil
e also valuing waterways. A saying often used in our region, “
If you don’t like the weather, and stick around,it
ll change,” may be truer than ever. In a study that looked a
t deviations from long-term trends, or Kansas City was identified as the most populou
s city with the most unpredictable weather. Going forward it will be even more dis
tinguished for our local leaders to be able to work cooperative
ly with Federal agencies involved in managing water
resources under a framework flexible enough to rep
ly to evolving needs in a changing environment,but rigorous enough to produ
ce repeatable results and supportive of informed decision-making tha
t considers social, economic and environmental benefi
ts.
Lynda Hoffman is President of the Missouri and Associated Rivers Coalition (MOARC)
Source: whitehouse.gov