While rain fall totals across Cass County remain below the annual average, flood prevention remains on the minds of both city leadership and residents in Harrisonville.
On June 24, both parties came together along with representatives of several flood-management agencies, to continue the fight against the negative effects of flash flooding throughout Harrisonville.
The meeting featured an open-house format, with a variety of agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Flood Insurance Program, USACE Silver Jackets, the Grand River Stream Team, and more available for one-on-one conversations about the issues Harrisonville residents face during flood events.
One of the main topics of conversation was the Corps of Engineers recently completed flood model, which details flood-prone locations and what each location could face during flash flood events. During discussions about the model, the USACE and Silver Jackets staff also answered questions about a variety of flood-prevention methods such as detention ponds, additional culvert boxes, scheduled storm-waterway maintenance, home elevation and more.
Mayor Judy Bowman was actively involved in the event, listening to residents and speaking with agencies about how the needs of the Harrisonville community can best be met. During the meeting, she continued to encourage residents to make sure their property was covered by flood insurance and to be aware of the many potential benefits that exist for homes facing a repetitive-loss situation.
“I appreciate those agencies, the neighborhood leaders, elected officials and other interested citizens who attended the flood prevention workshop and were able to have one-to-one conversations with representatives of those agencies. Everyone left with an armful of relevant, timely and important information,” Bowman said.
Moving forward, city leaders say they plan to, with help of the Corps of Engineer’s model and ongoing early detection work with the U.S. Geological Survey, continue actively looking at what long-term solutions would best combat the effects of flash flooding and pursue the resources needed to pay for any work that would need to be done.