Parkville prepping for high water, flooding before July 4
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — While Missouri Governor Mike Parson was extending an emergency declaration on Wednesday to make sure riverfront communities could get help during and after potential flooding, Parkville leaders were trying to gauge exactly how much water they’re going to get.
The Missouri River was running at about 21 feet Wednesday but National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts say it could reach 27 feet or higher in the next few days.
“That 27-foot mark is right at that [point where,] a few inches either way honestly makes a huge difference in what happens to [English Landing] Park,” said Parkville Mayor Dean Katerndahl.
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That’s why he’s planning for the worst, and hoping for the best, before a weekend where a 5K race on Saturday will likely be able to happen without any problems, but rising water levels will close the park on Sunday, canceling roughly 30 reservations for ballfields and park shelters.
“We would rather inconvenience a bunch of people and not let them come than risk one person getting hurt because their child walked off into the flood water,” said Parkville Police Captain and Emergency Manager Jon Jordan.
“You can see the current is moving along really good, it’s going to be going faster as the water comes up then when it comes down it’s going to go really fast, so we have to keep people safe.”
Capt. Jordan has seen the river rise every five to six years in Parkville since 1991, including the 35-foot crest in 2019.
“It reached the railroad tracks,” said Capt. Jordan.
“You and I here, it would be taller than us right here.”
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The anticipated 27-foot crest in the next few days is closer to what Parkville has to handle every few years without flood protection. Mayor Katerndahl says that would be really expensive to build and it isn’t likely to be covered by federal funds anytime soon.
“It would be an almost impossible project plus that would cut the whole park off from the river which is part of the point of the parks,” said Katerndahl.
So, for now, residents like Roger Grove are enjoying the last views of the high rushing water and the tree trunks it carries before English Landing Park closes Sunday.
“We saw the river super full like this is now where you couldn’t see the bank,” said Grove.
“I thought that’s why it came down here today because by now it would be like that here.”
Parkville says the July 4th fireworks should still be fine for Thursday, but the viewing locations for the public might change based on how much clean-up work has to happen in the park.
Anyone with reservations in English Landing Park is asked to call Parkville City Hall in case they have to cancel reservations into next week.
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