May 2024 (Submitted)
CLARKSVILLE, Mo. — Nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, historic Clarksville, Mo. has witnessed decades of the mighty river’s grandeur — along with many instances of the devastating effects brought on by flood waters.
Since the flood of 2008, Mayor Jo Anne Smiley has been working to protect the community from devastating floods. After years of telling Clarksville’s story and why it needs a flood wall to protect the town and its citizens, Smiley’s efforts — along with fellow members of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) and legislators at the state and federal level — have turned the goal of protecting the community into a reality.
She was surprised and elated to receive the news on Tuesday from Congressman Sam Graves (MO-6) that funding had been allocated for a new flood wall for Clarksville. He announced that a $1.7 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant for the construction of a removable, modular flood wall was official. This funding will be matched by $10 million in state funds, along with $695,310 in EDA money to cover engineering costs for the project.
“I’m thrilled to see the City of Clarksville receive the last piece of funding needed to begin work build on their movable flood wall project. With a movable flood wall, the community can finally protect themselves from future flooding, before it happens. For years, Mayor Jo Anne Smiley has worked tirelessly to see this project come to fruition and that day is finally in sight. I was proud to support the legislation back in 2019 that made this funding possible. I’m glad to see it awarded to Clarksville for this critical project,” Graves said. “I’m also grateful for the efforts of Gov. Parson, the Missouri Department of Economic Development and state legislators to ensure that the rest of the funding needed was provided. Mayor Smiley, the City of Clarksville and the Mark Twain Council of Governments are to be commended for their hard work which will enable the city to not only survive, but thrive, for years to come.”
Smiley explained the Great Flood of 1993 reached 37 feet, far surpassing Clarksville’s flood level of 25 feet. Since then, waters reached 36.7 feet in 2008, followed by historic flooding in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2019 — when the waters were about 36 feet deep.
“I realized that mayors along the river on both sides really had an invested interest in what was the health and the welfare of the river,” Smiley said of the MRCTI. “So, that was my impetus in terms of spending time, energy and effort in another organization.”
Smiley’s work to secure a flood defense system began in 2008, with visits from officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The agency provided directives for moving forward, including drafting a master plan, working with an engineer to plan a design for a potential solution and vetting existing flood defense options.
Flood defense technology evolved greatly over the years. Clarksville officials employed several potential options and purchased materials from two systems to fight floods following 2008’s disaster.
For instance, a system called Metalith, which proved effective but was not reusable. After reviewing proposals from about 13 companies, Smiley and fellow officials found a potential solution through a German company called EKО.
“We were very excited about it, because it was a system that was installed into the ground, and then it was put together like LEGOs,” she said, explaining how hollow aluminum posts filled with water during a flood and bracing was added on the side away from the river. “Then you could go as high as you needed — you could go three feet; you could go 10 feet.”
EKO was “exciting”, because it was adaptable and could be installed by city crews. Smiley began to share this proposal whenever she could, and FEMA agreed with the plan.
Smiley said the next step was finding a way to fund the flood defense system, which at the time was estimated to be $3 million around late 2010. The EKO company president worked with Smiley every time she presented the proposal before legislators in the state or federal capitol.
Soon, about 20 members of MRCTI joined in the efforts, providing steadfast support for Clarksville and the flood defense plan. Smiley said each of the members had a representative in the House in Washington, D.C., Jefferson City or their own state.
MRCTI celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year, comprised of 101 mayors representing communities on both sides of the river.
When then group formed, members had witnessed a 50-year drought. Smiley explained the needs for the communities along the river have evolved over the years.
Core tenets of the group, however, have been constant — to enhance river quality and encourage habitat restoration, encourage state coordination for river management and improvement, boost water conservation measures, build sustainable economies and celebrate the culture and history surrounding the Mississippi River.
Many legislators have assisted Smiley as she expressed the need for flood protection for Clarksville in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. She commended Congressman Graves, Sen. Roy Blunt, Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin and former Rep. Jim Hansen, who served District 40 for eight years.
“It’s been a long road, as you can well imagine. Each time you go back to a commission, you run the risk of finding brand-new people, because they don’t stay forever — kind of like mayors don’t stay forever,” Smiley said, noting members of the MRCTI executive board change every two to four years, depending who is in office.
She remembered retelling the story many times, and the mix of emotions that resulted. There were moments of excitement when it seemed the results were forthcoming, before a different emergency caused funds to be used elsewhere.
Smiley didn’t slow down during the past four years, stressing “the message had to be carried, and you couldn’t carry it from your office on the phone”.
Her dedicated efforts paid off — Smiley said “I think the blessing has come”.
She and fellow officials have been in contact with people overseeing the funds, along with representatives responsible for ensuring that all the work is being done according to applicable regulations.
So far, plans call for bids to go out in the next two weeks. The hope is to commence with construction of the new flood wall by February or March.
“If that works, we should be having a Happy Thanksgiving in 2024,” Smiley said.
Smiley is looking forward to the future with optimism. The flood wall will begin near Lock and Dam 24, proceed down Front St. and end near Highway 79. She emphasized there will still be some parts of the town that will still flood. As before, community members will put effort, energy and supplies toward protecting those areas.
However, Smiley feels that buildings along the riverfront that once housed businesses could fill up again, and the burgeoning candle factory could grow thanks to the flood wall.
“My hope is that as people look at it, they will see that this is an answer to a huge problem, and that this community- this choice jewel of Pike County — can come back and can thrive again without fear of being inundated by the waters of the Mississippi River,” she said, noting Clarksville could “be the magnet that it once was”.
Smiley never wavered in her feelings that Clarksville needed this sort of protection from floods.
“I think it’s a town worth defending, filled with people worth defending,” she said.