Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Reservoirs Are Outdated and Must Be Reviewed

Letter

Congressman Dave Loebsack and Congressman Leonard Boswell wrote to President Obama urging that the reservoir management plans for the reservoirs in Iowa such as the Coralville, Saylorville, Red Rock, and Rathbun Reservoirs be studied and updated.

"Our reservoir management plans are a continuing source of concern and debate," said Loebsack. "Families, businesses, communities, and farmers in my district rely on these reservoirs to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property. We must update the plans through a fair, and scientific study, and we must explore updating management practices, including the water release-rate policies."

"With Iowans facing their second summer of flooding in two years, we must make sure that the tools and plans that the Corps and affected communities use are up-to-date and balanced," said Boswell. "I share the concerns that have been raised this summer about these reservoir management plans as water levels at Saylorville and Red Rock Lakes rose dangerously close to devastating thousands of Iowans and their homes and businesses. We must take the time to scientifically review these plans in order to prevent such situations in the future."

Loebsack and Boswell have worked with the Corps and affected communities since the Floods of 2008. Loebsack and Boswell have also hosted town-hall like meetings with communities and the Corps, requested funding for flood-risk modeling, and written to the Corps expressing the continued concerns of residents in the affected areas.

A full text of the letter is below.

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,

We write to express our support for funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to conduct long-term scientific studies of the management plans for the Corps flood-control reservoirs in Iowa. We respectfully request you provide funding for such activities in your Fiscal Year 2012 Budget.

Recently, the Governor of Iowa wrote in support of the same request in response to the serious flooding that has occurred in Iowa this year and also in 2008. Further, there are numerous counties in our districts that have experienced severe flooding over the past few months for which we wrote to you requesting a presidential disaster declaration. This flooding has damaged infrastructure, farmland, homes, and businesses in many Iowa counties and has continued up until as soon as last weekend.

The management plans for the reservoirs in Iowa such as the Coralville, Saylorville, Red Rock, and Rathbun Reservoirs, all of which directly impact our districts, have not been substantially updated or studied for some time. We have already been working with the Corps and affected communities since the Floods of 2008 to begin a dialogue on the management of the reservoirs and the water release-rate policies through town-hall like meetings, funding requests for flood-risk modeling, and letters to the Corps expressing the continued concerns we hear from our constituents on these issues.

As our state continues to recover from the Floods of 2008, begins to address the current flooding, and continues mitigation efforts to prevent the flooding that is seemingly becoming much more common, it is critical the Corps be provided resources to examine the flood protection reservoir management plans for the which so many Iowans rely on for protection.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter. We will also look to continuing to support enhanced flood control through the Appropriations request process for Fiscal Year 2012.

Sincerely,

Dave Loebsack Leonard Boswell
Member of Congress Member of Congress

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