By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Randy Rodgers and his wife walk along the Big Creek dike nearly every day. Thursday morning they noticed some “very large, stately cottonwood trees with a white mark at the base of them.”
Rodgers, a retired KDWP wildlife biologist in Hays, made some calls and found out the trees are recommended for removal in the engineering for upcoming repair of the Big Creek levee from 8th Street to the Highway 183 Bypass.
The levee has a “minimally acceptable” rating by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to Hays Stormwater Specialist Steven Walters.
The project includes the removal of 74 trees and associated roots, varying in circumference from 4 inches to 96 inches, with the biggest trees reaching from 80 to 100 feet high.
Rodgers spoke to Hays City Commissioners Thursday night and offered an alternative to removing the trees, calling it a “quality of life issue.”
“I know lots and lots of people would be upset if they walked down there and discovered those tremendous trees were gone–particularly in my opinion–for no good reason…It’s one of the most beautiful areas of the city.”
“Those trees are old enough they have been there before the dike. Their roots are down in the flood plain soil. Because water runs off the dike, it’s unlikely those roots would have gone up into the dike,” Rodgers said.
He suggested using a Ditch Witch or trencher to cut a trench 10 to 15 feet out from the trees–between the trees and the dike–and shear off the tree roots within the trench. Before the trench is filled in, putting in an impermeable barrier would prevent the roots from growing back into the trench. Rodgers noted it would be much less expensive than cutting the trees which costs “thousands of dollars.”
The city is discussing the alternative with the engineers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “We’ve told them we absolutely don’t want to remove any trees that we don’t have to,” said city manager Toby Dougherty
The city must meet certain conditions in order to qualify for the Corps program which “essentially insures the levy in case of a catastrophic event. They’ll pay for 80 percent of the cost of rebuilding it. If we do have a catastrophic failure and they determine it was due to trees that were improperly located, then you don’t qualify for the reimbursement,” Dougherty explained.
City Commissioner Ron Mellick added “the bottom line is, we’re doing this to prevent levy failure and to protect the citizens of Hays. A life is worth a lot more than a tree. If this is necessary, I’m going for preservation of life.”
Big Creek levee was built in 1950 and has never had any work done to it.
See a related story here.