DNR awards grant to Southwest Missouri Council of Governments for Flood Mitigation Planning in the City of Marshfield

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources awarded a Water Quality Management Planning Grant (604(b)) totaling $47,500 to the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments (SMCOG) for the purpose of flood mitigation planning inside the City of Marshfield, Missouri.

The city of Marshfield is matching $5,000 of this amount for a total of $52,500 in dedicated funding toward conceptual solutions that would mitigate flooding and/or erosion in five specific areas of the city including:

● Sunshine Street between Burford and St. Charles

● Washington Street between Allen and White Oak

● Frisco Ball Field

● Marshall and Bedford

● Locust and Julian

In addition to conceptual design, the mitigation plan will identify potential funding mechanisms and outlie major steps necessary to implement the proposed improvements.

Natalie McNish, city of Marshfield mayor, commented, “It is relationships such as the one we have with SMCOG that build better cities. We are honored to work with this organization to address this very important and real need for our city. Marshfield is uniquely situated at the geological divide between the Missouri and Arkansas rivers and because of this, many springs originate from various hillsides and including the headwater for the Niangua River, Pomme De Terre River, Osage Fork of the Gasconade River, and the James River. This uniqueness creates challenges for stormwater control, which our residents have battled for decades. While this project does not address all the stormwater needs for our city, it is a great start, and we are excited to move forward and learn more about how we can better protect our natural resources and our citizens from flooding events.”