With flood waters beginning to recede, parts of Platte County will have months of cleanup ahead, and the potential for more flooding in the coming weeks.
In Weston, where rising water cut off city hall and the downtown city park last week waters are going down as of Tuesday afternoon but the bottom of Main Street was still impassable. At the height of flooding over the weekend, the city hall parking lots were covered in 7-8 feet of water and the Weston Burley House made the local news with owner Corey Frisbee giving reporters a tour via boat of the flooded historic warehouse.
North of Weston, Highway 45 was closed late last week and the Iatan Power Plant cut off, with employees boating to work. Just north of the plant, the lake communities at Bean and Sugar lakes were underwater. As of press time, Highway 45 had reopened, with a closure still reported by MoDOT at Woolston Road.
English Landing and Platte Landing parks in Parkville have been submerged for more than a week, with Parkville mayor Nan Johnston declaring an emergency Monday to leverage state emergency management funds to mitigate any damage to trees in the park from the prolonged exposure to the river water.
With the parks a popular venue for weddings, and three scheduled for the weekend of the flood, Parkville made local headlines as well when English Landing Center owner Tom Hutsler hauled in 300 tons of rock and worked with city officials to build an access road to get guests to the hall in English Landing Center.
In Riverside, E.H. Young Riverfront Park and the Missouri Riverfront Trail were closed, with areas near Argosy Casino taking on water Saturday. Highway 9 at Briarcliff had to be closed in both directions as water rose over the weekend. As of press time, all lanes of northbound Highway 9 were open, with southbound lanes still closed.
A press release from the city Tuesday night stated the soutbhound lanes could be open as soon as March 27.
While the City of Kansas City itself felt only minimal impacts from the flooding, its water service customers are suffering from a side effect — murky water. The Kansas City Water Department has issued an advisory to customers that because of flooding the city failed to meet treatment standards for cryptosporidium, a microbial parasite.
Although the state does not consider this an emergency, a mandatory notification was sent out to warn customers with severely compromised immune system, infants or the elderly to avoid drinking tap water if they have concerns. The city has also asked residents to conserve water as it tries to catch up on enhanced treatments.
Meanwhile, businesses in the area are putting together fund raisers to help flood victims. Platte City’s Jowler Creek Winery donated 100 percent of wine tasting proceeds from last weekend to flood victims through Second Harvest Community Food Bank. The event raised $1,500.
Kansas City and St. Joseph area McDonald’s locations will donate 20 percent of its sales between 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 to flood relief through the American Red Cross.