STATE WISE TO GIVE UP ON ILL-FATED MARINA, HARBOR

Even the best of ideas can go awry. Such is the case with the ill-fated marina at the Trail of Tears State Park. After years of trying to salvage the project, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has thrown in the towel. It's probably for the best. Considerable funds have been spent to build the marina, and to maintain the slackwater channel year after year. All efforts have been to no avail.

You can't say the department and the Corps of Engineers haven't tried. But problems have plagued the Mississippi River Marina since its partial completion in 1975. Topping the list is the silt which enters the harbor during high river stages. The silt buildup then leaves the harbor high and dry when the river recedes. At times the harbor is buried in as much as eight feet of silt, and the access ramp is covered by 60 to 100 feet of sediment.

In the end, the department decided the marina caused more problems than it offered benefits. In 1980, the department moved the large dock facilities from the local marina to the Harry S. Truman Reservoir near Warsaw, leaving only an access ramp. Now, the department has decided to abandon the slackwater channel.

The marina was constructed at a pricetag of $1.5 million, a cost shared by the DNR and Corps of Engineers. In 1980, when flooding left several feet of mud and sentiment, the state opted not to spend the $650,000 needed to make the marina operable again. They realized that the silt would simply return each time the waters rose.

But in 1987, the Corps decided to give it another try and shaved five feet off the top of the rock spur dike that extends from the bank into the river at the upper end of the marina. A $200,000 dredging project followed to keep the channel open.

Following a series of floods in 1991 and subsequent tests of the site, the Corps concluded that the marina would require frequent and expensive dredging to keep it clear of sediment and the channel open. Frankly, in times of tight state finances, it's hard to recommend the department spend more money. In all likelihood it would be a matter of throwing good money after bad.

The Corps has agreed to make changes in the spur dike to increase the river's flow upstream from the harbor. They hope the swift water will reduce sediment on the access ramp, which is used by commercial fishermen and recreational boaters. The department has said it's willing to sacrifice the slackwater channel to reduce the accumulation of sediment on the ramp. The dike work is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1993. After that, the Corps has agreed to "let Mother Nature and the river do their thing."

If this works, the department might again consider a boat ramp. But the state says at this point, it's not willing to gamble with more of taxpayers' money on this project. That's a reasonable approach. The marina and boat dock are good ideas that just haven't worked. The state and Corps have done an admirable job in their efforts to keep the marina and channel open, but the money's just not worth it. It's time to move on.