Coalition To Protect The Missouri River Meets In Kansas City
As key maintenance funding winds down and fights intensify over limited Missouri River water, the Coalition to Protect the Missouri River met in Kansas City on August 26-27.
Hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to improving Missouri River navigation structures in the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL, 2021) — also known as the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) — has left Missouri River navigation in its best shape in years, according to Shane Kinne, executive director of the coalition.
“I hear from towboat captains all the time that the work has made Missouri River navigation so much easier, even in low water,” Kinne said.
The funds targeted roughly 7,000 damaged river structures like dikes and revetments along the Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project after historic floods going back to 2011. The work’s primary objective was to keep open a self-scouring navigation channel roughly 9 feet deep and 300 feet wide for commercial barge traffic.
The goal was accomplished, but now that funding is coming to an end. A top priority of the coalition is its replacement by a similar level of funding, either in the annual appropriations process or via some other funding means. In addition, Kinne said, “We’re hoping to gain several things from this year’s Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).”
Kinne noted that this year is a low-water year for the river, with a reduced level of service and an ending to the supported navigation season that is 15 days earlier than last year’s. Continuing El Niño activity could presage a dry spring.
Another important issue for the coalition is to end out-of-basin water transfers. Water boards and state departments in water-stressed North Dakota have supported building pipeline infrastructure to divert Missouri River headwaters to North Dakota for drinking water. State leaders claim these transfers are authorized by the Pick-Sloan Act of 1944 that established the framework for Missouri River governance. Navigation interests and lower basin states have pushed back.
Kinne said the controversy so far is all about drinking water, not data centers. He said there is a provision in this year’s WRDA that would prevent out-of-basin water transfers from non-Missouri River states.
Flood Risk Study
The final completion date for the Lower Missouri River Basin Flood Risk and Resiliency Study is scheduled for March 2027. The draft plan was posted in December 2025 by the Corps of Engineers. The public comment period was closed on April 8, 2026, after an extension.
Conducted by the Omaha and Kansas City districts, the study will cover the lower basin from Sioux City, Iowa, to the mouth near St. Louis, Mo. The system study will evaluate reach and system specific alternatives and provide recommendations of future spin-offs and proposals.
