Marion, Kansas, Local Protection Project on Mud Creek at the Town of Marion, Kansas
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT MARION, KANSAS LOCAL PROTECTION PROJECT Prepared by - U. S. ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT, TULSA, OKLAHOMA a. Project description. This environmental statement pertains to the proposed Marion, Kansas, Local Protection Project on Mud Creek at the town of Marion, Kansas. The report of the District Engineer has been referred to the Committee on Public Works and is awaiting authorization action by Congress. A benefit-cost ratio of 1.7 exists for this proposed project. Floods in Marion would be prevented by diverting Mud Creek around the west side of town through a diversion channel and by construction of a levee along the channel and Cottonwood River. b. Environmental setting without the project. Mud Creek, normally lazy and slow moving, flows southward through the center of Marion to its con fluence with the Cottonwood River at the south edge of the city and is subject to severe flash floods during periods of moderate to high intensity rainfall. The rolling plains of Marion County have been described as "scarped plains," in which strata, dipping gently to the west or north west, have been leveled by erosion to a plain with eastward and southeast ward facing rock escarpments. Surface rocks are usually shales and lime stones. Overburden soils are a product of the weathering of these rocks. Predominant native grasses are buffalo, gramma, and big and little bluestem grasses. Streamside understory and trees consisting of elm, locust, willow, and hackberry, with an occasional cottonwood, afford game-type habitat. Stream fishery is limited to native species: carp, bullheads, catfishes, sunfish, and minnows. The area to be protected from flooding is the city of Marion, Kansas - a well developed residential, commercial, and industrial city - which serves a wide rural agricultural area.
[Show full text]