MOUND CITY TO RECEIVE CORPS OF ENGINEERS AWARD TODAY

MOUND CITY, Ill. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will give Mound City an Outstanding Maintenance Award today.

Mound City Mayor Sam Johnson will receive the award from Maj. Todd A. Gile, deputy commander of the Corps' Memphis District, at 2:15 p.m. today at the Mound City Fire Station.

The award, Mound City's 14th, is being presented because the city exceeded the Corps' maintenance program requirements for levees, channels and other flood control structures.

Mound City is responsible for the maintenance of two-and-a-half miles of levee and 700 feet of floodwall along the descending bank of the Ohio River, which borders the city, along with a drainage structure through the levee for the Cache River south of the city.

These structures and others, such as channels and pumping stations, are designed to provide draining and reduce flooding.

"They are vital links in an extensive network within the Lower Mississippi Valley," said Corps spokesman Robert T. Anderson.

The Corps conducts annual inspections along the river to ensure there are no weak links in the system.