CORPS FIXES 125 LEVEES IN '93 FLOOD

Some 125 of 126 levees damaged during the 1993 flood have been fully restored, the St. Louis District of the Corps of Engineers reported.

The Bois Brule levee near Perryville and the Kaskaskia Island levee in Southern Illinois were among those restored as of Dec. 30 to the full level of protection, Capt. Scott Fehnel said.

The exception was Ste. Genevieve County Levee Number Two, where construction has been hampered by a number of problems, including extreme wet and rainy weather.

Breaks during the 1993 high waters were reported in 11 levee districts, Fehnel said.

One district near the Missouri-Mississippi rivers had 53 breaks, he said.

"We hope we never have another 1993," he said, adding that by the time the spring thaws arrive, "we hope to have full protection for everyone who lives behind the levees."

The Corps of Engineers, however, is preparing for a wet spring.

The Corps has organized flood teams to assist people should the high waters come, he said.

A million sandbags had been stockpiled, and "more can be ordered" if needed, he said.

The Bois Brule levee is 89 percent complete, Fehnel said.

"Work is slow at this time, because of wet weather, but, the only construction left there is minor," he said. The levee is at full-level protection and relief pumps have been installed.

The levee, barring further wet weather, will be completed by mid-February, he said.

The Bois Brule levee broke the Sunday, July 25, 1993, pouring water into the small community of McBride, six miles north of Perryville, and the Perryville Municipal Airport.

The levee breached on the south end, forcing water to flow backward into the low-lying areas, allowing people to flee to safety. As much as 25 feet of water eventually covered parts of the area.

Levee construction has been halted in the Kaskaskia area, but is expected to continue next week.

"That levee has been repaired to full protection status," Fehnel said. "We still have a lot of work to do there. Work was stopped recently due to wet conditions."

Meanwhile, work continues on the Len Small Levee in the Olive Branch and Miller City, Ill., area.

A breach in the Fayville portion Levee near Miller City in 1993 left thousands of acres of land under water in Alexander County, including portions of the Miller City road.

"Construction has been slow on repairs," said Dirk Fuqua, bureau chief of the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Water Resource, Bureau Projects Implementation, which is responsible for repairs to the Len Small Levee.

The project, delayed by bad weather, is about 70 percent complete, he said. It was to be completed by Jan. 15.

The new levee will be stronger and a lot wider, Fuqua said. "We had to fill in an 80-foot scour hole at the break."

The design for the repairs include filling the scour hole with sand, and once the levee work is complete, placing a clay seal over the top.