Howard Bend Levee

Howard Bend Levee construction in Maryland Heights, MO.

The Howard Bend floodplain contains roughly 8,000 acres in western St. Louis County. It is bordered on the north by the Missouri River, and has historically been an area of agricultural land with remnant pockets of wetlands and other natural habitats. It is also the location of Creve Coeur Lake County Park.

In 2001, the Howard Bend Levee District began raising the pre-existing agricultural levee to a "500-year" flood protection level in order to accomodate commercial development. The City of Maryland Heights simultaneously amended its land use master plan to allow for such development.

Even though the area was 10 feet under water in the 1993 flood, the City and Levee District are now planning for hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in this sensitive floodplain. The Corps belatedly issued an environmental impact statement for the development in early 2004.

Read the Coalition's comments on the Corps' EIS for further information about this dangerous project.