After the story about the flood wall in Parsons appeared in the last edition of The Parsons Advocate new information has come to light. Dan Jones, Public affairs, US Army Corps of Engineers, has issued the following statement.
“As a result of the disaster declaration in 1986, the temporary dike was constructed using emergency funding through Public Law-8499. The dike is a diversion structure and would not be eligible for regular inspections and ratings under the Corps of Engineers PL8499 Rehabilitation Inspection Program.
The temporary dike was constructed by contractors working for the Corps of Engineers. The temporary dike was upgraded to a more impervious structure and was built through a partnership between the Corps of Engineers and the Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service). The Corps received funding from the SCS to design and oversee construction of the permanent structure.”