The Corps of Engineers confirms what many Northwest Missouri residents feared: some levees broken by this year’s flooding won’t be repaired before flooding returns. Northwest Division Commander John McMahon tells a congressional subcommittee there’s not enough money.

Money is only part of the problem. Another factor is time. McMahon says it’ll take until the end of March to complete a study of the space needed in upstream reservoirs to capture the spring runoff.

Northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves asked McMahon if he would rebuild behind a broken levee, and McMahon answered, “Maybe not.”