o
3T Tl
TTTl
9
TTT) R
fT P
2y
By
Martha
Miller
G
For fiye years, people around peitt
have repeatedly been flooded from their
homes. The government has stepped in
to help, but some folks are still upset.
On the cover: James and Linda Buss
stand in what once was a productive
field on their farm.
lenn Pieper's voice shakes and his I
eyes water when he talks about the
flood that hit DeWitt two years ago.
He is angry that water ruined his
new home.
He is resentful that he has had to pay more
than $30,000 to repair the house, and that he will
spend the next 10 years paying back flood loans.
He is frustrated that the state has done little to
try and help stop the flooding.
And he is hurt.
Deep down he believes the stress of the flood
contributed to his 10-year-old-son's ulcer and
the premature death of his mother. Two months
after the June 1 3 disaster, doctors diagnosed Mrs.
Pieper's cancer. Thirteen months later, she was
dead.
"The doctor said the flood could have triggered
the cancer cells to activate," he said, nervously
rubbing a hand over his face.
Pieper's response may seem irrational to
some, but the people in DeWitt are somewhat
emotional when it comes to floods.
In the past five years, the town of 650 has
experienced three floods in 1982, 1984 and
1986. Since 1902, DeWitt has been flooded 14
times. The 1984 flood cost Gage and Saline
Counties $14.3 million.
''Some people say a flood is an act of God"
(leper saM Keah, I believe that . . if youhave 8
to 20 inches of rain overnight But that's not
what we have. Gar flood is coti&jji from 20 to-30
miles upstream.' ;-J:.
, J DeWitt'fiocds,'ia fcayy Alias
Swell , the ususiy tranquil North
cad South Kjirb 'fit Swan -Greek,
The water rushes downstream,
pouring into nearby Turkey Creek
which, in turn, dumps into the
Big Blue River a few miles above
DeWitt.
In an effort to help tame the
waters, the state offered to build
17 dams and two grade-stabiliza
tion structures on Swan Creek designed to reduce
flooding in DeWitt by 98 percent and up to 25
percent in nearby Beatrice. The watershed also
would protect some 9,600 acres of land that sits
on the Big Blue flood plain.
That was 22 years ago.
Today, only two of the 17 dams have been
built. The $8.7 million project has become
victim of bureaucratic red tape, economic belt
tightening and by their own admission
inattentive DeWitt residents.
M history of the Swan Creek Watershed
rTPfgoes back to June 9, 1964, when
neighbors of the creek submitted an
application to the Nebraska Soil and
XL Water Conservation (now the Natural
r Vi
o o o
Resources District) to ask for federal assistance
in building a watershed project. The application
was approved ana. in iw), two dams were built
near Milligan, several miles northwest of DeWitt.
But in 1972 the project was put on hold. A new
administration moved into the White House and
changed the regulations for small watersheds,
said Ron Fleecs, district manager of the Lower Big
Blue Natural Resources District. Since the project
is funded by three groups the federal Soil
Conservation Service, the Nebraska Resource
Commission and the local Lower Big Blue N'RD
it was sent back to the drawing board.
There were major debates over using flood
plain regulations and whether or not to build
dams, Fleecs said
"The EPA wasn't gung ho on the dams because
they were inhibiting wildlife," he said.
If it wasn't for the administrative delays,
Fleecs said, the watershed would have been
completed by now.
Finally, in 1983, after a series of emotional
and sometimes heated legislative hearings, the
federal government granted its approval and
financial support. Three of the structures
located near Tobias in Saline County received
the go-ahead in September and are slated for
completion by the end of this year.
Bet Fleecs says it's just hopeful speculation.
, Dam construction is heavily tied to weather
conditions and often is delayed because of rain.
So far, the crew on "pie Tobias site has only been
able to work 4''dsys'.(ihis .Vearfie .said; If
things move ahead as scheduled, Fl&cs said; the
NBD is hoping the entire project can be finished
by 1994. v'-:'
The heart of the watershed's problems are
financial. Pleas for more money have come at a
time when the state is facing a $50 million
shortfall in funds. To help trim some fat from the
budget, Gov. Bob Kerrey vetoed $200,000 for the
Swan Creek watershed last July.
That news didn't sit too well with some DeWitt
residents.
About 20 townspeople piled into their cars
and pick-up trucks the following Saturday and
drove to Lincoln to picket the governor's mansion
with signs saying "No more words we want
action" and I'We'U be in the red until you give us
watersheds."
James and Linda Buss, farmers who live
several miles south of DeWitt, were two people
who made that 30-mile trip. James Buss, 32, lost
$10,000 in 1984 when the flood devoured 200
acres of corn, soybeans and milo. In the last
seven years, his farm has been flooded 1 1 times.
Years of flooding have left behind a 450-foot by
50-foot, 10-feet hole in the middle of his
cornfield as a painful reminder.
