CAPE COUNTY CONSIDERS SURVEY OF HUBBLE CREEK

The Cape Girardeau County Commission and experts with the federal government are looking for ways to fund a project for erosion and flooding along Hubble Creek.

In April, a committee, which had studied the problem for two years, recommended a four-part solution expected to cost $4 million.

Mark Nussbaum and Dave Owen of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Services have been working on plans for the project.

On Thursday, they requested $5,000 from the Cape Girardeau County Commission to pay for a geological survey of the creek bed. The Soil and Water District will be asked to pay for crop damage to farm fields surrounding the drilling sites.

Before agreeing, county commissioners said they want some assurance that money would be possible to pay for the whole project.

"We don't mind being the sponsoring agency, but we fully mind being the paying agency," said Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones.

In addition, the commissioners are considering reinstating the Hubble Creek study committee to help follow the project through construction.

The committee was formed two years ago by the Cape Girardeau County Commission in response to severe erosion problems in some areas of the creek. The problems are especially bad south of Gordonville where Hubble Creek is deepening and widening dramatically.

Access to a bridge on County Road 228 south of Gordonville is eroding, and officials say the bridge at the junction of Highway 74 and Route A at Dutchtown will one day be imperiled if the erosion isn't reduced.

Meanwhile, landowners on Hubble Creek are seeing their property erode at the rate of a quarter acre per mile per year.

Jackson is experiencing storm-water runoff problems in part because of development within the city and development to the north of Jackson.

The proposed mitigation project's four parts:

-- Cape Girardeau County should adopt runoff control and stormwater detention ordinances for new development.

-- Jackson should adopt similar ordinances for new development within the city.

-- Detention storage structures should be built in the upper regions of Hubble Creek. About 90 are needed.

-- Three rock and concrete structures should be installed in channels of Hubble Creek and its major tributaries to stabilize the stream bed.

The geological survey recommended Thursday is needed to aid in design of these rock and concrete structures.

The geological survey would include nine drill holes, each about 40 feet deep.

Knowing what rock structures lay beneath the creek will help engineers design the most effective projects. In addition, it could save money when bids are accepted. Contractors will have a better idea what is in the creek.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service is offering assistance with planning and engineering of the project. But it has no funds for construction.

"The fact is there will have to be some local money," Owen said, "whether farmers pay for structures on their land or the county pays for saving bridges.

"We all want the problem fixed, but we don't want to put anything into it," Owen said. "It's time to stop posturing."