CARTHAGE, Mo. —
Plans for a project to address erosion along Spring River east of Carthage were advanced Tuesday by the Jasper County Commission.
When completed, the work should address a long-standing problem in the Morrow Mill area, said Michael Malone, civil engineer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Commissioners have discussed the problem for years, and funding now is available to pay for most of the work, Malone said.
“The plan has been approved by our national office,” he said. “And with it being so dry, now would be the perfect time to do it. That’s the only silver lining.”
Malone reviewed plans for the project, which would remove a small section of the Morrow Mill dam, stabilize about 400 feet of the river’s bank and fill in much of an area that has been eroded away over the years.
“It would take down a portion that’s doing the damage, but that’s not the original dam, it’s a replacement,” he said.
Malone said the part of the dam to be removed is directing the river flow toward a nearby residential property that has lost about an acre of land. He said the project will “lock the bank” in place and allow the stream to resume its natural flow. NRCS officials will work with the county in drafting a request for bids on the project and in showing the site to potential contractors. The project should take about 40 days to complete, he said.
Federal funds will pay 75 percent of the cost. The rest will come from county road accounts, because of the potential impact of flooding on County Road 118 and a bridge downstream, said Jim Honey, associate commissioner.
He said the part of the dam to be removed is constructed of huge blocks of limestone, and that he will check with local governments to see if they might have a use for the stone. If not, it can be used in the fill.
In other business, the commissioners accepted a bid from Matt Denny Construction Co. to construct a building on county road barn property to house salt and cinders used on roads in the winter. The total cost is $162,808.11, including construction of a building with an asphalt floor, Honey said.
Reimbursement
THE COUNTY COMMISSION announced Tuesday that it had transferred $79,498 into the law enforcement sales tax budget. The money is from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and represents 75 percent of costs claimed by the sheriff’s office for use of department vehicles in connection with the Joplin tornado in May 2011. The remaining payment will be received after a final review of the claim.
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Commission approves plan to curb erosion on Spring River
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