BUILDING A BASIN: CITY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS PROCEED WITH CONDEMNATION FOR FLOOD-CONTROL PROJECT

The soothing sound of running water envelopes the wooded area along LaSalle Fork near Cape Girardeau.

Standing on the bank of the stream at the edge of the private Dux Landing subdivision off Route W, there is no hint of the changes that would occur if the city succeeds in building a detention basin downstream.

City officials say it is just a matter of time before work proceeds on construction of a 157-acre detention basin, part of the $48 million Army Corps of Engineers' flood-control project.

This won't be a lake. The detention basin will only fill up with water during flooding caused by heavy rains. Most of the time the area will be dry.

In recent years, channel improvements have been made along Cape LaCroix Creek and Walker Branch. The detention basin is the last major part of the 9-year-old project remaining to be done.

Over the years the city has run into roadblocks in its effort to dam a valley and turn farmland into a detention basin northwest of Route W.

The city had hoped to start construction of the water-detention basin by 1995, but some of the affected property owners opposed the project in the courts. In April 1992, a judge ruled the city didn't have legal authority to condemn land outside the city limits. In August 1995, a judge threw out a condemnation lawsuit brought by the city.

Judge Michael Bullerdieck of Perryville ruled the city hadn't made valid offers for the land and didn't make a good-faith offer for property belonging to the owners of the Route W Mobile Home Park.

In March 1998, the city turned the condemnation effort over to the Corps of Engineers. The Corps said it would go through federal court to condemn four tracts of land needed for the detention basin.

Ken Eftink, the city's development services coordinator, said the four properties total over 100 acres.

Eftink said condemnation proceedings could occur over the next few months. The land could be obtained by mid-summer, he said, clearing the way for construction to begin on a trunk sewer and the detention basin. The work would be bid as a single contract.

The city already has acquired 45 acres. Easements will be obtained for another four acres.

"We would like to see the trunk sewer started later this year," said Eftink. "The bulk of the work on the detention basin would be done next year."

If all goes right, the trunk sewer and detention basin project could be finished by 2001 at a cost of $3 million to $5 million.

The city's share could amount to $2 million to $2.5 million, with the federal government paying the rest.

Eftink said the city's share includes the bulk of the cost of a $1 million trunk sewer that will extend up Route W to the mobile home park. The lagoon serving the park will be eliminated.

The federal government is paying 75 percent of the cost of the entire $48 million flood-control project. The city is paying the other 25 percent, including the detention-basin land costs.

The city and Corps seek to condemn some 35 acres owned by Masters Farms Inc., nearly 43 acres of the Kassel farm, 14 acres of Route W Mobile Home Park property owned by Charles Blattner and Jerry Erlbacher trusts, and some 14 acres owned by the Mirly B. Hahs Estate.

The owners of Masters Farms don't want to sell, Eftink said. They don't want the dam to be built on their land.

Jana Kassel and her sister, Donna Jett, own the neighboring farm land. They didn't want to sell either. But they are now resigned to the fact that they will lose more than half of their 70 acres. The land is all that remains of the family farm.

Kassel said her ancestors came from Germany more than a century ago. The farm originally covered 209 acres. Over the years, the land was sold. But Kassel's mother still raised cattle on the farm in the 1980s. She died in 1986. "I sold the cattle," said Kassel. Active farming ceased on the land in 1987.

Still, the two sisters have emotional ties to the property. "It means something to us. It means a great deal," Kassel said.

Kassel lives in Cape Girardeau. Her sister lives in Texas.

Kassel said she and her sister would like to avoid condemnation proceedings. They recognize that they faced an uphill battle to keep their land from the very start. "We just wanted to keep it as long as we could," she said.

Her lawyer, Walter S. Drusch of Cape Girardeau, questioned the need for the detention basin. He said the city's flood problems seem to have been addressed by all the channel improvements downstream. "Ever since that canal has been there, has there ever been a real threat?" he asked.

But Eftink said the detention basin is the key to the whole effort to prevent flash flooding. Without it, flooding could occur even where the channel improvements have been made. "All of the work downstream is designed with the detention basin as part of it," he said.

The plan calls for building an earthen dam and concrete spillway. A pipe in the dam would allow for the continued flow of water along the creek.

Heavy rains would cause water to pond behind the dam. At most, the water would cover about 125 acres, backing up almost to the edge of the Route W Mobile Home Park.

When the detention basin is full, it could take two to three days for the floodwater to drain completely.

BASIN BASICS: WATER-DETENTION BASIN PROJECT

BEFORE FLOOD WATER; AFTER FLOOD WATER

COST: An estimated $3 milliion to $5 million, including land acquisition, the cost of a dam and a trunk sewer. City and federal government would share in the funding.

LOCATION: The detention basin would cover about 157 acres northwest of Route W, near County Road 620. It would be built along LaSalle Fork, a tributary of Cape LaCroix Creek.

DAM: The earthen dam would be 1,200 feet long and extend 43 feet high. At its base, the dam would be 240 feet wide. A pipe in the dam would control the flow of water. The dam also would include a concrete spillway.

PROJECTED COMPLETION: 2001