SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – A levee on the Little Sioux River near Smithland needs about $2 million worth of repairs after flooding in June, and there is considerable doubt about who will foot the bill.
The Bennett-McDonald-Smithland Levee system was built in 1964. Damage from floods in the 1990s was never properly repaired, and the June floods only made things worse.
The cost of repairing the dams, culverts and embankments, as well as removing the debris, is estimated at about $1.8 million.
Because the dike did not meet the requirements, the landowners adjacent to the dike must first pay the money up front before the US Army Corps of Engineers will reimburse them.
Woodbury County Engineer Mark Nahra says this puts surrounding landowners and the county in a difficult position.
“We have to do all the planning, have the project do all the work, and then seek reimbursement from the Corps to repair those damages,” Nahra said. “Then we wait for their determination to look at it and say, ‘Okay, this happened in 2024, we’ll pay you X amount of dollars for that bill,’ but that puts a tremendous amount of risk on the taxpayers of Woodbury County and the landowners in that area.”
Woodbury County is currently exploring options for state funding and must decide by mid-September whether to advance the cost of repairs.
All rights reserved.
