South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Levee is the flooding culprit, as flooding victim in Sunset Hills argues

Letters+to+the+editor

Letters to the Editor

To the editor:

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch report (9-1-2016) headline reads, “Valley Park levee was built too high, and neighbors paid the price.” That headline tells the story.

Glenn Koenen’s Oct. 10 letter doesn’t contain one fact to disprove this truth. He tells us he worked in Valley Park, two blocks from the river for 25 years, and saw the levee go up, and this gives him credibility.

Mr. Koenen stated, “Ms. Nickels is all wet.” He was right, I was all wet and had mud up to my knees, as me and my crew ripped out flooring and walls after 2 feet of water flooded my house.

Mr. Koenen didn’t seem to care about, and I quote, “Eureka and rich people in Sunset Lakes.”

I didn’t see any rich people, I only saw ordinary people with all their belongings destroyed.

They had to tear down two of the houses on West Watson, and the third is back on the market for $179,900 — hardly rich people.

The golf course that closed, Sunset Lakes, was a public course. Not a rich man’s club, but that doesn’t make any difference. It is not fair to allow these levees to change the course of the river.

This levee has grown in size every year. Add the fact that they sandbag on top of it, and you have major flooding in neighboring Eureka, Sunset Hills, Fenton, Byrnesville, Pacific and Arnold.

Marlene Nickels
Sunset Hills

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