Partial Levee Settlement

WASHINGTON, IND. (WTHI) -       A partial settlement in a civil suit appears to finally have some money headed to repair a broken levee.

     Earlier this year Daviess County filed suit against Don Villwock, Randall Bowman, Shepard Construction, Cindy Lamar and the Wabash Levee Unit Number 8 Committee over a break in the Bennington Levee along the White River.

     A mediated settlement has the defendants agreeing to pay for at least part of the repair costs.

     Water covered thousands of acres in western Daviess County in March of 2011 after the Bennington Levee broke.

     The county wound up cutting a second hole in the levee to get rid of trapped floodwaters.

     Fixing the levee has been a problem, but now some repairs are underway.

     A $445,000 settlement with the defendants in a lawsuit is helping to pay for the repairs at the north breach.

     "There is some feeling of relief," said President of the Daviess County Commissioners Tony Wichman.  "I'm not going to say I'm elated but there is some relief."

     Officials say the mediation isn't over with and one of the big issues to be resolved is who is going to pay for the breech in the south end of the levee.

     "The south end is still up in the air and there are about $100,000 worth of other areas in the flood plain if you will that have to be repaired because of that yet," said Wichman.

     That means there is around $400,000 in work yet in question.

     County officials say they are hopeful that agreements can be reached and that the repairs to both ends of the levee can be completed before the end of the year.

     Daviess County says the repair to the breech on the north end of the Bennington Levee should be done in a few weeks.

     The county is still waiting on a permits before beginning work on the hole in the south end of the levee.