Authorities: Levee system in good shape but needs raising in spots
By Elizabeth Skrapits, The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
However, they say parts of it in
Army Corps Engineer
Col.
The levee is strong and will hold if the water rises to the 40-foot mark -- "You don't have to worry," he assured residents.
But climate change means floods will increase in magnitude and frequency, Jordan said.
Other factors affecting the situation include changes to the
Because of these changes,
Gruber said an affordability study is being done. Flood insurance has gone up due to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in
"I hear about this every day," Gruber said, noting that it is a "very complex issue."
"We need your help," he told the federal officials. "Those residents should not be evacuated every time we get a lot of rain."
Watkins said the flood walls were built as a
Jordan said that since the flood walls are not an
Jordan said the Corps can't force anybody to sponsor a project, and suggested talking to elected officials.
Another problem is a lack of funding -- at the federal, state, and local levels -- for flood-protection projects.
Watkins was not encouraged by what she heard.
"That creek's not going to get fixed," she said after the meeting.
"You created a flood zone. How do you plan to address that?" she asked the federal officials.
Johnson said a feasibility study was done prior to the 1990s and the cost-benefit ratio didn't justify it. Jordan explained that for every
But Aita said she had seen the study.
"We have been deliberately left out," she said.
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