Flash flood warnings were up in Nebraska after up to 9 inches of rain

Flash flood warnings were up in Nebraska after up to 9 inches of rain fell in the south-central area of the state.  The hardest-hit areas include Buffalo, Dawson, Frontier, Gosper, Kearney and Phelps Counties.

The Dawson County Sheriff’s Office says several cars were stalled in high water on U.S. Highway 30 in Lexington, and Kearney firefighters and a dive team were called out to help people unable to leave their homes.  A 46-year-old woman died after her car got caught in the moving water on Nebraska Highway 21.

The worst of the flash flooding likely has abated, but flooding is still expected along the Platte and other rivers, as the storm runoff moves downstream.

As Nebraska cleans up from this latest round of flooding, there’s an extra push for money to improve infrastructure and the nation’s waterways following the spring flooding.

The Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing on the Water Resources Development Acts, which would include a possible water bill for 2020.  Usually, Congress enacts a bill every two years to improve lock and dam structures on the nation’s waterways, known as WRDA, and 2020 is the next time funds could be allocated towards it.

Speaking at the hearing, Republican Congressman Bruce Westerman said, “In Arkansas alone, we’ve seen an estimated $23 million per day of economic loss along the Arkansas River, as barges and boats can no longer navigate our inland waterways.  Much of this waterborne commerce is dependent on infrastructure that was initially constructed in the 1960s and 70s and is quickly approaching the end of its shelf life”.

The Army Corps of Engineers, drainage district associations and other water groups testified about the possible need for updated money and legislation.

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