Senator McCaskill says it’s natural to question the actions of the Corps of Engineers in blowing levees and managing flood damage. The Corps is under increased public and political scrutiny because of earlier floods on the Mississippi.

She says this year’s problems on the Missouri RiverĀ are a reversal of earlier issues; previously the problem has been holding too much water in reservoirs in the north. This year, there has been a fair amount released. When that happens, water gets too high to navigate the river, and it’s difficult for barges to move.

The Corps of Engineers has manufactured many levees that are then maintained by local levee districts. McCaskill says this is a problem because the Corps is not designed to maintain that many levees. McCaskill, Senator Blunt and Governor Nixon asked the Corps to make the repairs to Bird’s Point Levee in southeast Missouri a priority, but the Corps said there are miles of damage,Ā and Bird’s Point is on the list.