States unite to limit flooding:

Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri are joining forces for a study that will look for ways the states can limit flooding along the Missouri River and give them information about how wetter weather patterns could require changes in the way the US government manages the basins reservoirs.

The states are pooling their money to pay for half of a $400,000 study with the US Army Corps of Engineers to measure how much water flows down the Missouri River.

The states hope to present a united front to federal officials to gain more influence over how the river is managed after devastating floods in 2011 and 2019.

“We’ve got to look at the data, but it’s certainly possible that we’re going to see more wet years,” Republican Nebraska Gov Pete Ricketts said at a recent media briefing. “We need to collect the data first, and then we can address with the Corps what they ought to be doing.”

Officials from the states plan to meet next month to decide how to proceed.

A lot of the data the Corps uses to manage the Missouri River is outdated and doesn’t account for the two historic floods over the last decade, said Jeff Fassett, director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources. The Corps did not respond to requests for an interview.

“We need to be factoring in new information as we look forward,” Fassett said. “Nobody knows whether this is the new normal. What if 2023 looks like 2019? If this happens again, we need to be better prepared.”

The effort comes as higher global temperatures are causing glaciers to melt into

the oceans and producing extreme weather conditions that are more intense and destructive than ever before. The states are bracing for more frequent and severe floods, even as some of their top officials, including Ricketts, question mainstream climate science.(AP)