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Wednesday, June 15, 2011 – Daily News 3B Crews race to build up levee protecting Iowa town HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of workers raced Tuesday to add several feet to a levee that now stands as the lone barrier between Hamburg and the flood- waters of the Missouri River that threaten to fill the small town like a bathtub. Crews working for the Army Corps of Engineers hoped to pile at least three feet of extra dirt atop the temporary levee. But time was short and the stakes were high: If the levee were to fail, parts of this southwestern Iowa community could be covered by as much as 10 feet of water within days. And the high water could linger for months. The construction work stirred up a cloud of dust as teams hur- ried to complete the improve- ments by Wednesday evening. The earthen levee became Ham- burg’s last line of defense after the river punched through another levee downstream in northwest Missouri that provided the town’s primary protection. That failure left water gushing through a large gap on a path to inundate the town of 1,100 — unless the other levee can be made taller. ‘‘I feel good about it,’’ Fire Chief Dan Sturm said. ‘‘But we can’t guarantee anything. We’ve never really had to cope with any- thing of this magnitude.’’ Even though the levee breach was downstream, the floodwaters were flowing north to fill the area around Hamburg because the town sits in a valley. The fire chief compared the geography to a slowly filling bathtub. The water was initially expect- ed to arrive in Hamburg on Tues- day, but the corps later said the flooding would not reach the new levee until sometime Wednesday, giving workers an extra day to fin- ish the job. Corps leaders expected the effort to add three more feet to the levee to be complete by midday Wednesday. ‘‘You can see the water com- ing,’’ said Col. Bob Ruch, com- mander of the corps’ Omaha dis- trict. The river has been rising steadily for weeks as the corps increases the amount of water released from its dams to clear out heavy spring rain and snowmelt. On Tuesday, the releases at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota hit the maximum planned amount of 150,000 cubic feet of water per second. So officials downstream in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri were sure to be watching for more levee prob- lems. The dam releases are expected to raise the Missouri River 5 to 7 feet above flood stage in most of Nebraska and Iowa. In Missouri, the river may climb 10 feet above flood stage in some places and spill over the top of several rural levees. Parts of Montana, North Dako- ta and South Dakota have already seen some flooding, and officials predict the problems will linger through the summer because of the large volume of water already in the river and the larger-than- usual Rocky Mountain snowpack. The corps does not expect to reduce the amount of water released from the dams until at least August. So far, the floodwaters have covered mostly corn and soybean fields with few structures. But it’s an unwelcome development for farmers because grain supplies are at historically low levels and demand is strong for every bushel of corn and soybeans. Still, the loss of the crops is unlikely to affect overall U.S. pro- duction because the areas under- water are relatively small. Mike Nenneman, a farmer from Sidney, is waiting for the flood to swamp a 360-acre tract of corn and soybeans he owns in far southwest Iowa. He expects to break even, with $700 per acre in crop insurance to offset his loss- es. ‘‘We are the drain of southwest Iowa,’’ Nenneman said, gesturing to the Missouri River to the west and the Nishnabotna River to the east. ‘‘We take all the water from everywhere.’’ In Hamburg, workers hoped to complete the levee project by Wednesday night. When finished, it will be about eight feet tall in most places. A line of tractor-trailers carry- ing dirt to the levee stretched for more than a quarter-mile Tuesday morning. Once the trucks reached the work area, tractors and other earth-moving equipment carried and pushed it to the levee. To help buy some additional time for the levee work, the corps cut a 300-foot-wide, three-foot- deep notch in the same Missouri River levee south of Hamburg that recently failed. The notch will allow some of the floodwater to drain back into the river, but will only slow the water’s advance toward Hamburg, Ruch said. The corps started building the new Hamburg levee last week after finding problems in the main levee in Missouri. Several businesses near the levee stood empty Tuesday as crews toiled on the new levee. Todd Morgan with A&M Green Power Group says the owners of the John Deere dealer- ship moved their business to one of the company’s other dealer- ships in Shenandoah, 25 miles away. ‘‘We wanted to play it safe than sorry,’’ Morgan said. ‘‘Every day that goes by, you seem to hear something different. With the breach yesterday, we just don’t know what the integrity of that levee is.’’ The busiest local information website in Tehama County! • 338,883 monthly page views St. Elizabeth Community Hospital A member of CHW 2550 Sister Mary Columba Dr., Red Bluff (530) 529-8000 http://www.redbluff.mercy.org • 49,162 unique visitors PHYSICAL 2490 S. Main St., Red Bluff • 530-529-3636 & WELLNESS Fitness Center 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff • 528-8656 Tehama Family 1355 Vista Way, Red Bluff, by the Airport (530) 529-2040 RANDAL ELLOWAY DDS, INC. 22805 Antelope Blvd. in Red Bluff www.redbluffyamaha.com • (530) 527-1466 Auto Recycling Inc. 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