01/08/2016
These are my photos that I posted on Grand Tower Matters page. Here on my own page, I can say what I want or give my own opinion on how I feel and what I think about these photos.
Firstly, I mentioned that most of these photos are of water that is inside of the levee. The land in these photos is south of Grand Tower. When it rains north of us and here in our local area the rain water makes its way south to the Southern tip of Jackson County. Once this water travels as far south as it can go, it starts backing up and begins to move back north until it fills in many farm fields and surrounds the homes of several people. Normally, our locks that are located along the Big Muddy River would take this water out and put it back into the river, once the river goes down enough for the locks to be opened. But, the problem is that many of these lock systems are aging and some do not work. When the levees and locks were constructed, well over 60 years ago, they had a lifespan of 50 years. They are old and in need of great repair, and the simple fact is that the people of our community don't have the money to fix our levees and locks so they can function properly to protect people, homes and fertile farmland. The poor state of the infustructure of these levees is beyond belief. And they are only getting worse. In 2013 when the drain pipe collapsed on the Big Muddy levee the people of our community tried our best to raise the money to fix this part of the ailing levee. Repair to this area began in the fall of 2015, made available by funding from a bond issued through Jackson County. It took almost 2 1/2 years to even begin the repairs. These repairs are not complete. As long as that faulty area isn't repaired and completed, then the people of our community are at risk to the levee failing. It's a very worrying situation for those of us who live here. With the spring rains only a couple months away, the people of our community are very worried. With our recent flood event we were lucky, we barely dodged the bullet to what might have been a catastrophic circumstance for many. As they say "we hung on to a wing and a prayer" one more time.
I know some might say that it is only water. But, to the farmers who cannot plant their spring crops because their fields are flooded, it is much more than water. The economic loss that these farmers face is a great one and the loss of their un-planted crop will eventually trickle down to the consumers. This farmland is some of the most fertile land in the country. It makes me very sad to know and see the hardships that these farmers will face come this spring. These levees are a infrastructure that were built to protect this valuable farmland, the people and their homes. The levees and locks are out of date, aging and falling apart. They need fixed and put back into the shape that they once were.
Of course these are my opinions but, I base them on what I see and know to be the cold hard facts of the situation.
I've been told many times that my photos show and tell the story. If my photos can bring awareness and hope to the people of the Flood plain, then I am using the gift that God gave for the betterment of others. Which is how it should be.....
