Missouri Congressmen Fight for Kansas City Water Improvement Projects

Congressman Cleaver and Congressman Graves join together to improve levees, bridges, and creeks prone to flooding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-05) and Congressman Sam Graves, (R-06) collaborated to advance four major flood control projects in the Kansas City metro: Kansas City Levees, Turkey Creek Basin, Dodson Industrial District, and Swope Park Industrial Area. The two sent a letter to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure urging the committee to include authorization for these projects in the upcoming Water Resources Development Act, (WRDA). You can read the letters here and here.

“These flood control projects are critical to the safety and security of each and every Kansas Citian. I am glad that Congressman Graves and I were able to work together on this issue that has little to do with party affiliation, but more to do with preventing potential disasters and saving lives in Kansas City,” said Congressman Cleaver.

“Kansas City has become the economic hub of the Midwest, with hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs coming here every year,” Congressman Graves said. “We depend on the levees along the Missouri and Kansas Rivers, however, to protect the investments Kansas City has made in industry and infrastructure. Thanks to support from Rep. Cleaver, myself, and people across the region, I am confident these levees will get the attention they need to protect our homes, our businesses, and our economic security.”

These target areas, prone to major flooding, would receive significant improvements:

*Kansas City Levees – placing both phase 1 and phase 2 under one authorization will improve management efficiency and treat the projects as one levee system. These levees along the Missouri and Kansas Rivers provide critical flood project to the economic heart of Kansas City, protecting over 5,000 structures totaling over $20 billion in investments, plus serving as home to 24,000 people.

*Authorization for the final phases of the Turkey Creek Basin Flood Project – which would widen the channel, relocate bridges, and include tunnel modifications to finish the project. Turkey Creek flows 15 miles through the Kansas City metro, and its frequent flooding poses serious risks to loss of life and residential and commercial areas.

*The Blue River Basin Project in the Dodson Industrial District would include a 6,800 foot levee floodwall along the north bank of the Blue River, protecting over $380 million in property investment and the 1,500 people who work in the area. Authorization for the final phase would complete this project.

*A safe emergency access road to the Swope Park Industrial Area – currently, only one access road exists into the business park. The project will provide flooding relief and a safe passage for the 400 workers in the industrial area.

###

For more information, please contact Heather Frierson at 816-842-4545 or

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.