AAC


COVER STORY


Arkansas counties cr to process of levee ove


“An historic flood calls for an historic response.” — Gov. Asa Hutchinson


Story by Arik cruz AAC Law Clerk


pring in Arkansas is generally seen as a sea- son of rebirth. Days begin to last longer, veg- etation begins to grow, and temperatures begin to rise. Perhaps even more noteworthy, how- ever, are the plentiful rains that begin to fall, bringing with them hopes of a bountiful harvest in later months. But this year, these canonical April showers brought something far more perilous than May flowers.


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Indeed, these springtime rains brought a devastating 500-year flood to the state that began in late May and per- sisted into mid-June, with its ramifications still felt many months later. This unprecedented flooding event shattered crest records on rivers across Arkansas. For example, the Arkansas River at Morrilton (Conway County) saw a record crest of 43.03 feet on June 6, 2019, exceeding the prior record set during the Great Flood of 1927 by roughly a foot. Dardanelle (Yell County) witnessed the river crest at 45.91 feet on May 30, 2019, exceeding by more than a foot and a half the record set in May of 1943. Record crests were also recorded in such locations as Van Buren (Crawford County), Toad Suck (Faulkner and Perry Coun- ties), and Pendleton (Desha County), and the highest crests in recent years were seen in other towns and cities along the Arkansas River.


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