Harrison County neighbors sacrifice crops to fight flood waters

Chairman of the Rand Peterson Levee District in Harrison County, Larry Buss, says that the district needs about $10 million to fix problems with levees and bring poorly maintained private levees into the public system. In the meantime, because neighbors successfully work to fix problems during flood events, the district isn't getting the needed funding.

Courtesy: Rita Utman

• Rita Utman and her family are digging up good crops to prevent greater flooding after a private levee failed.
• “This is the last line of defense right here and that’s what we’re doing ... and so this is our stand right here and it’s working. It’s holding. It’s saving lots of people,” said Buss.
• “With the efforts these folks are putting in out here, is saving us all over the county,” said Harrison County Supervisor Brian Rife.
• RELATED| IOWA FLOODS: Mills County trustees hopeful rebuilt levees won't fail

Courtesy: Rita Utman

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Farmers in Harrison County are not getting a lot of sleep right now because of the floods. I’m your southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.

I’m just west of Modale where a group of neighbors are working together to build emergency levees on their own.

“If we’d let our levees fail in 2011, we'd have money here,” said Larry Buss.

He is a retired engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers, a farmer and the chair of a public levee district along the Missouri. He’s working with Rita Utman’s family to build emergency levees after a private levee failed.

“Hard work used to be rewarded. But in this case, failure is rewarded,” said Utman.

She is talking about the work private landowners are doing in the levee district to shore up weaknesses in the system.

Neighbors say it’s a no-win situation: they do their own work to prevent catastrophic flooding, therefore, they don’t get government funding to prevent catastrophic flooding.

“This is the last line of defense right here and that’s what we’re doing ... and so this is our stand right here and it’s working. It’s holding. It’s saving lots of people,” said Buss.

Neighbors worked all night, digging up the Utmans’ crops, to build emergency levees when the private levee failed. Possibly, saving nearby Modale.

“And if we hadn’t done anything the water would get out, sweep around, come right on down this way,” Buss said, pointing to a map.

“With the efforts these folks are putting in out here, is saving us all over the county,” said Harrison County Supervisor Brian Rife.

He says there are economic repercussions for the whole county when roadways are closed and these are the people keeping them open.

“If we need something done, we go to local farmers. Those are the people who show up and get things done,” he said.

“You may end up with nothing. It’s just mankind. You’ve got to give to others to protect. And that’s, you’re giving it your all, when you’re giving it up,” said Utman.

The levee district, says Buss, needs about $10 million in additional funding to fix levees and keep farmers like the Utmans from having to sacrifice their crops for the greater good.