Corps Levee Study

VINCENNES, IND. (WTHI) - A major evaluation of a southern Indiana community's levee system is underway.

The Army Corps of Engineers has a team in Vincennes to carry out a $430,000 study of the levees that have protected the city since the 1950's.

The findings could have a big impact on everyone in Indiana's oldest city.

The Wabash River is out of its banks and lapping against the levee that has protected the city for a half century.

Officials call the combination of walls, pumps and dirt mounds a priority for protecting the community.

"We have a lot of important assets including a major university, a regional hospital, several businesses and homes, but the levee it our most important infrastructure," saud Kirk Bouchie with the Vincennes Water Utilities.

The Wabash has tested the levee plenty of times, but now it will undergo a study by contingent from the Army Corps of Engineers.

At stake will be the flood insurance rates of everyone in the community,

"If we provide a positive evaluation for the levee system to FEMA they can accredit the levee on the flood insurance rate maps to show it providing protection to the city," said Dan Frank with the Army Corps of Engineers.

The corps says they intend to look at every aspect of the levee protection system, and while the on site inspection will last only a few days, the final results won't be known for months.

"We will be detailing the condition of the project and identifying those areas that need to be improved," said Frank.

"They're on site and they're looking at it with their engineering expertise," said Bouchie. "We've been working on this for a couple of years so we do not expect to find very many big surprises."
Officials hope after the reports are made they can carry out the needed improvements and maintain their status as flood protected.

The study is being funded by donations from Good Samaritan Hospital, Vincennes University, the Knox County Development Corporation and the Vincennes Housing Authority.