FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT: DON'T REPEAT BAD TIMES

The heavy rains that fell on Cape Girardeau Tuesday brought with them a tangible reminder of our region's distinctive geography and the problems it can pose. The downpour on our rolling environs pushed some creeks to their limit and beyond. It was the type of rain that got the attention of civic leaders in years gone by, that caused local property damage and prompted discussions of finding a way to mitigate the problem. At least with the recent deluge, we have a comfort level that the issue of flash flooding in Cape Girardeau is being addressed.

Ground was broken earlier this month for the flood control project involving Cape LaCroix Creek and the Walker Branch. These usually serene waterways, which weave their way through Cape Girardeau, can transform into raging currents when formidable rains hit. In May 1986, waters topped these creeks and caused about $56 million in property damage. Two years later, voters of Cape Girardeau approved a 10-year, quarter-cent sales tax to help minimize the threat of this type of flooding.

Revenue from the local tax will help pay for a project that has long been discussed (as far back as 1973) but been given a shape and funding dimension in relatively recent times. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has devised a $35 million endeavor to lessen by 70 percent the damages that might be caused by a major flood along these creeks. Channel modifications, bridge replacements and construction of a 157-acre water retention basin should do the trick, say project planners, who foresee completion of the work in 1994.

That this project has taken so long to leave the drawing board is proof of its grand scale. Our preference that local problems be solved locally is overwhelmed here; $35 million is far beyond the reach of a community this size. Thus, a time-consuming accommodation was made, and a program of determined cooperation and diligent planning was set in motion.

A project of this size had plenty of room for both dreamers and pragmatists. Deserving thanks are civic leaders who saw the need and kept the vision alive, local and national government officials who made sure the financing was in place to do the job, and the citizens who voted their tax dollars for the project and contributed their ideas to make it a workable plan.

There have been times in this city's past when people were taken from retail establishments in rescue boats. Those memories are unsettling. Let us hope that through this project, those times will not be repeated.