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Federal flood money dries to a trickle

Posted August 14, 2007 11:00 pm

Bob Schaper

Over the past five years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Rock Island District, which includes Northern Illinois, has spent over $675 million on studies, construction projects and operating expenses across five states. But virtually none of the money has come home to the Rock River Valley, and no flood control projects have been funded within the city of Rockford.

The figures, which are publicly available on the Corps' Web site, reveal an organization that spends most of its money keeping the Illinois and Mississippi rivers navigable to barge traffic, and less on civic projects along smaller waterways.

Imbalance in spending

Ron Fournier, chief of corporate communications for the Rock Island District, said all projects are funded on a competitive basis.

"You're competing with the entire world on projects," he said. "We have projects in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan..."

Jim Ryan, administrator for the city, said he and others have complained for years about the perceived imbalance in Corps spending.

"We've raised concerns for several years that we need Army Corps investment in the Rock River basin," he said. "Particularly for our drainage channels and the Rock River itself."

Specifically, the city has requested the Corps spend between $300,000 and $500,000 to study the Keith Creek watershed basin. However, that project is not currently in the 2008 budget working its way through Congress.

Fournier said Col. Robert Sinkler, district commander, might be able to shift money within his budget to fund the study. But even that, Fournier added, would require approval from Senate and House appropriations subcommittees and the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

"Assisting the city of Rockford in improving its nonfederal flood damage reduction system is the Rock Island District's top nonfederal flood damage reduction priority in the Rock River basin," Fournier said.

Meanwhile, a meeting between Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, and city leaders on Tuesday in Rock Island yielded no tangible results.

"We left the meeting disappointed," Durbin told reporters afterward. "The answers we received today are unacceptable. Their proposed solutions are too long-term."

"I share the Senator's concerns and disappointment," Manzullo said. "You don't play politics when it comes to the lives of people."

Fournier said it was difficult to know exactly how much money was spent in the Rock River basin since 2002, but a Corps of Engineers map shows a scarcity of projects here.

Loves Park project

The last local flood control project that was actually constructed was the $30.5 million Loves Park Creek flood protection project, which began in 1992 and was finished in August 2004.

The Corps paid $22.1 million, or 72 percent of the costs; the state paid $4 million; Loves Park paid about $4.4 million.

The aim of the Loves Park project was to prevent the type of flash-flooding seen in wide swaths of southeast Rockford over the last year, most recently on Aug. 7. More than a dozen homes have been condemned so far as a result of the latest flood.

Fournier suggested the Rock River basin would always take a backseat to the larger rivers.

"The No. 1 priority is to keep the Mississippi and Illinois rivers systems up and running," he said.

Staff writer Bob Schaper can be reached at 815-987-1410 or bschaper@rrstar.com.

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