Towns developing on flood plains despite the hazard

ST. LOUIS -- Since the Great Flood of 1993, developers have taken a strong interest in the flood plains, the largest amount of open, private land left in the region.

City officials and landowners have worked with developers to take advantage of liberal regulations and public subsidies for flood-plain development, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.

About 14,000 acres of flood plain could be converted into developed areas in St. Louis and St. Charles counties under projects planned or already under way.

Supporters say the benefits justify what they consider to be a small chance of flooding.

The suburb of Maryland Heights has designed the largest new flood-plain development in the region on 8,000-plus acres near the Missouri River.

It calls for 16.5 million square feet of hotels, businesses and light industry behind a reinforced levee.

"Would there be, in geological time, a point in which the river would come over that levee? Sure," said J. Wayne Oldroyd, community development director for Maryland Heights. "That's a business decision (to build in the flood plain). The market will decide whether it's confident in putting development there."

Short term vs. long term

Critics say the flood-plain development puts short-term economic gains ahead of long-term safety and environmental stability.

James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Bill Clinton, predicts the costs of new development will outweigh the benefits.

Witt said construction in flood-prone areas also makes flooding worse elsewhere.

"We've actually caused a lot of these problems ourselves, by not protecting our environment so it can protect us," he said.

The newspaper found that:

Missouri's development contradicts federal flood task force recommendations. A 1994 report said, in part, that new flood-plain development should be avoided, levee construction should be limited and people and buildings should be moved out of the river's way when possible.

Missouri lawmakers have declined to enact statewide flood-plain regulations, allowing communities to develop flood plains without fully evaluating or compensating for effects on their neighbors.

A growing body of scientific evidence has detected increased flood heights of 3 feet to 12 feet on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, a trend that shows no signs of stopping. The scientists blame levees and flood-plain development in part for the increase.

Increased flooding caused by new development could affect people and buildings already in the region's flood plains. Up to 1.1 million people live in the historic flood plains of seven states in the Upper Mississippi River basin, according to the Post-Dispatch's study. Much of this commercial and residential development is in levee-protected areas, where flood insurance is not required.

Taxpayers subsidize flood-plain development through levee construction, levee repair, disaster aid, insurance costs and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and drainage systems.