Eight years in the making: Metro East levee reconstruction to be completed next summer, officials say

Nov. 24--EAST ALTON -- A $72 million levee reconstruction project eight years in the making is nearing completion, and area officials gathered Monday to tour a construction site where the Wood River Creek meets the Mississippi River.

The success of the project, scheduled to be completed next summer, is the result of a coordinated effort between state and local government officials and private contractors, said Illinois Sen. William Haine, D-Alton. Haine was joined by State Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan and Chief Supervisor of levee construction Chuck Etwert.

Etwert said the project was no small feat, but that it was a demonstration of state and local government officials working together to solve a problem.

"It has been a fabulous project of communities coming together. We are an example, really, for the rest of the country: If you have a problem, here's how people come together to solve that problem," Etwert said.

Dunstan said the project was necessary for a healthy economy in the area.

"If we wouldn't have had the legislation, we would not have had the funds to do what we had to do, and if you did not get this fixed, the bottom line is that right now Madison County economically would be devastated," he explained.

As engineering standards evolved, the original levee system, designed and built in the 1940s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, became deficient. The old system would not protect against a 100-year flood, the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined, without supplemental flood-fighting measure. The term "100-year flood" is used to describe a flood with the probability of occurring every 100 years. Flood stage in St. Louis is 30 feet. A 100-year flood would reach 54 feet.

The newly reconstructed levees, nine of them in total, will protect against two primary deficiencies: seepage coming under the levees during high floods and the age of some facilities.

In 2007, FEMA said the system did not meet safety requirements and threatened to decertify the levees, prompting lawmakers to spearhead an effort to reconstruct 86 miles of levee.

Haine introduced and sponsored a bill that formed the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District in 2009, which oversees the reconstruction of the levee system from Alton to Columbia.

The project is paid for by a quarter-cent sales tax, which brings in $10 million a year. The district has been issuing bonds to bring in cash to get the work done sooner. The sales tax acts as security for the bonds. Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties are members of the flood prevention district.

Decertification would have prevented investment in the area, local officials said, by designating the American Bottoms floodplain as a "special flood hazard area" on new flood insurance rate maps. Such a designation would cause soaring flood insurance costs for individuals and businesses in the area.

The new construction will meet FEMA's standards for acceptable levels of protection, allowing for companies like the Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery to feel more comfortable pursuing investments.

Phillips 66 has invested billions of dollars in its South Roxana oil refinery (the company advertises $3.8 billion in core investment between 2008 and 2011). A spokesperson for Phillips 66 said the ongoing reconstruction of the levee system is important to investments.

"We're supportive of all efforts by state and county officials to make sure these levees were compliant with the 100-year (flood) status," said Melissa Erker for Phillips 66. "The protection a levee system provides and the long-term knowledge that facilities that protect our investments are up to date and compliant will be taken into consideration in future investment."

High river stages earlier this year caused delays to construction. The project, however, will be completed on time and under budget.

District officials have decided that there will be enough money left over after the 100-year safety level is reached to bring the water control works up to a 500-year flood level. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has pledged 65 percent of funding for the next phase, which is expected to begin in October 2016.

"The 500-year level of protection has always been the long-term goal of the council," Etwart said in a press release.

Reporter Kelsey Landis can be reached at (618) 208-6460, ext. 1396 or on Twitter @kelseylandis.

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