SANDBAGGING PLAN

A group of Midwestern states affected by record flooding in 1993 and near-record floods in 1995 has agreed to limit sandbagging that would reduce flood damage in one spot but increase damage elsewhere.

The agreement came in the form of a memorandum signed by directors of state department of natural resources offices in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The Missouri Emergency Management Agency, Nebraska Civil Defense Agency and the Kansas Department of Agriculture also signed the memo, which says, "Flood fighting should not be permitted to raise the effective level of levee protection during a flood if such actions will increase flood damages elsewhere."

The agreement seems a difficult thing to enforce. Imagine flood fighters in Illinois refusing to sandbag a levee that is about to be breached for fear that it will increase flood damage downstream in Missouri. Faced with certain damage if their levee fails, they aren't about to give another thought to folks downstream.

Unenforceable agreements are tricky to manage. Too often, after-the-fact lawsuits take the place of enforcement.

State officials downplay the agreement. The agreement allows local levee districts to strengthen a levee to keep it from bursting. Individuals also would be allowed to sandbag around their homes and businesses. State officials say no one will be hauled off to jail for sandbagging a levee.

But local levee district officials aren't so sure. It seems silly to force communities to consult state and federal officials before protecting their property. It isn't unreasonable for property owners to expect levees to hold up in flooding. To prohibit local levee districts from making sure levees do what they're supposed to do -- protect lives and property from the rising water -- only invites more legal challenges. Acts of God on the scale of recent flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers won't be prevented by planners and bureaucrats. Neither can planning mitigate the damage wrought by record flooding. Better to let flesh-and-blood property owners work to protect their property when the water rises. As with any battle with nature, some will succeed, others will fail. But prohibiting folks from protecting their own property guarantees failure there and doesn't guarantee the water won't breach levees downriver as well.