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Lecture to focus on 1951 floods on Kansas River

LAWRENCE -- The year 2001 will mark the 50th anniversary of what a Kansas governor called "the greatest catastrophe in Kansas history" -- the 1951 flood.

A University of Kansas doctoral student who is studying the Kansas River valley will talk about the effects of the flood at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, in the Hall Center.

Dale Nimz, doctoral student in environmental history, will deliver a talk titled "Reconstructing a Prairie River: Environmental Policy and Flood Control on the Kansas River Basin."

Nimz regards 1951 as a turning point in the history of the Kansas, or Kaw, River, which flows through northeastern Kansas before emptying into the Missouri River in Kansas City. Since 1951, a series of 18 major dams and miles of flood control levees have been constructed on the river.

The flood was so devastating that it essentially swept away the opposition that had existed before 1951 to a proposed systems of dams on the river, Nimz said. "The opposition had said it was too costly for the benefits," he said.

Nimz is examining how well the attempt to manage the river worked. In recent years, the dam system has been criticized as not being as effective as many had hoped it would be, he said.

"In the United States in the 20th century, we seem to be determined to control nature. Yet we find nature is very unpredictable and probably more powerful than we can imagine," Nimz said.

The power of a river was in the Kansas City Times headlines on July 12, 1951, "Rivers Rage On in Kansas." The story reported that "thousands of Kansans were homeless last night and at least five persons were dead in swirling flood waters that innudate scores of communities in the eastern half of the state. Flood records were being rewritten in nearly every river basin in the area."

On the same day, Kansas Gov. Edward F. Arn sent a telegram to U.S. Sen. Andrew F. Schoeppel describing the power of rivers and what Arn called "the greatest catastrophe in Kansas history."

"Losses are mounting so rapidly no accurate estimate is possible," Arn wrote. "We hear of 12 lives lost as of this morning and expect property loss, including crop damage, to be in excess of $100 million Š . The flood crest is not yet reached and heavy rains over the state are expected again tonight Š ."

The worst came the next day, Friday, July 13.

Despite the headlines and two months of record rains, Nimz said, "the impact of the flood seemed to happen more quickly than anyone had expected. In our time, we haven't experienced a flood of this magnitude. I think it's understandable the choices made at the time," he said, referring to the construction of dams.

Many in 1951 referred to the flood as a $1 billion flood, destroying property and lives throughout the Missouri, Kansas, Neosho and Marais de Cygnes river valleys. More than $500 million in damage occurred within the Kansas River Valley alone, Nimz said.

In researching the history of the Kansas River, Nimz found 1951 was the most recent of three floods of that magnitude. Others occurred in 1844 and in 1903.

"We haven't had a great flood since 1951. Until that happens, we won't know if this system works," Nimz said. He has nearly completed his research and plans to begin writing his dissertation next year.

Donald Worster, KU's Hall distinguished professor of history and Nimz's research adviser, said, "Dale is looking at the modern history of the Kansas River. Today Kansas rivers are among the most severely polluted in the United States. It's important to look at the history of all of our rivers and Dale's study is an important one."

To fund his research, Nimz has received an Alf M. Landon grant from the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka and a grant from the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence.

Nimz, who grew up on a farm near Goodland in western Kansas, earned a bachelor's degree in history from Kansas State University. He has a master's degree in historic preservation at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Before pursuing a doctoral degree in history, Nimz worked as a historic preservation planner in St. Joseph, Mo., and in Johnson County.