Riverside City History
Flooding & Fixes

The Missouri River, which gives Riverside so much of its identity, has also been an enemy. As early as 1844, major flooding has caused problems for residents of the area. Several major floods and minor ones have been recorded. In the 20th century, damage was recorded in 1925, 1927, 1944, 1951, 1973, 1982 and 1993.

While the Missouri River is a factor in most of these floods, Line Creek has also been the cause of local flooding and occasionally some serious damage. In 1973 and 1982, Line Creek was behind the flooding which, though not as widespread, was serious enough to impact both home and business owners.

It's believed that the worst flood was the famous 1993 disaster when waters rose to nearly the heart of the city, inundating scores of businesses along Highway 9 and causing millions in damage. The great flood of 1951 was also among the worst. This flood, which caused massive damage throughout the metropolitan area's valleys, was especially bad for Riverside because the community had only incorporated one month earlier. The disaster hit Riverside July 13, 1951 and lasted for days, leaving behind a thick coating of smelly mud and debris.

Early on residents looked for solutions. One of the first major efforts began in 1918 with a meeting in Parkville to form a levee district for the protection of "Quindaro Bend," the nearly 1,600 acres of river valley south of Riverside. The resulting levee was partially successful in protecting the area. Damage occurred frequently, however, and the levee was seriously breached in 1951. A "new" Quindaro Bend Drainage District was reorganized in 1970 and is still active in the current effort with the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

This program lead to the construction of a new 87+ million dollar levee which was completed in 2005. Bob Gieske, chairman of the district's board of supervisors, said this new Riverside-Quindaro Bend Levee brings protection to key parts of the city. (The levee district itself was originally formed to build the earliest levee, a structure finished in the early 1920s. The organization was rechartered in 1972 when it became apparent that the early levee was not capable of withstanding serious flooding.)

This latest endeavor involvement the US Corps of Engineers. "It's unbelievable the time and planning that have been involved," Gieske reported. A major change in today's effort compared to earlier attempts is involvement of the city. "If it wasn't for the city, we never could have done it. The up front costs and fees are amazing. Original efforts was really just a bunch of farmers trying very hard to protect their land. The flood of 1993 really opened people's minds as to the potential damage we can incur without protection and the potential growth we're capable of with a levee. This is going to be a fantastic area now that we have state-of-the art flood protection."

The Riverside-Quindaro Bend Levee will protect approximately 1,200 acres of property in the Missouri River valley, including farm land and a border area of light industrial development. Bounded by I-635, with railroad access and near downtown Kansas City, this portion of Riverside possesses some of the greatest growth potential of any region in the metropolitan area. During the summer of 2000, the city of Riverside began actively marketing the area in anticipation of commencement of construction.

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