The beavers were out today, looking for freshly flood scoured succulent black willow roots on which to snack. Water levels on the Kaw (Kansas) River have dropped precipitously although they are just now peaking on the lower Missouri River below Booneville. The Mo River will remain above flood stage for at least a week to ten days barring no more rain. More precipitation, especially anything nearing a repeat of the rains from last weekend would spell major disaster from Kansas City to St. Louis.
Here's a high water mark in a tree upstream approximately 2 miles from Eudora Kansas. That's a 230 cm paddle for scale and it's resting approximately 75 cm off the ground. Although difficult to see, debris was lodged approximately another blade length (~75 cm) higher in the tree. However, given the size of this tree it was likely bent over some during the flood so the actual flood elevation was likely about the end of the paddle or about 400 cm above the current water surface. 400 cm = 13.1 ft for les Americains. Access to the Kaw River at Eudora is via a 1 mile stretch of the Wakarusa River. If all streams had a riparian corridor that looks like the lower Wakarusa River the world would be a very different and better place. Fifty to 70 percent tree canopy along there. Very nice.
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