COUNCIL BLUFFS — The odds are against the levee system being repaired north of Council Bluffs before this spring.
In fact, Pottawattamie County Board member Scott Belt said Tuesday, there is "no way we will get them fixed before the spring."
County Engineer John Rasmussen told the County Board Tuesday that in order for the county to receive reimbursement for repairs, it must prove ownership of the levees or show a record of maintenance — neither of which can be done.
Rasmussen had been working with consultants to develop a request for proposals to repair about 12 breaches in the levee system, including some near the newly rebuilt Interstate 680. After the Federal Emergency Management Agency informed him that the county would not be reimbursed, Rasmussen said, he scrapped that process.
Board member Loren Knauss said FEMA gave the county the impression there was a loophole that it could use to repair the structures without having ownership.
"Unfortunately, there is not, and we spent the last two months wasting precious time," he said.
Now the county will turn its attention to developing a levee district to deal with repairs.
However, Belt noted that it will likely not help anything this spring.
"I'm confident they will not be fixed by spring, so we need to know at what point water will come over our county roads and cause them to close again," he said. "Is it 21 feet or 25 feet? What is the number?"
Belt said the Pottawattamie County Sheriff's Office and Emergency Management Agency need to know those numbers to be able to inform citizens.
Rasmussen said the county collected data as the river rose in the summer of 2011, but with 11 or 12 breaches in the levee, that data is useless.
"With those numbers, we were dealing with a levee system in place, so they're not relevant," he said.
Belt said the issue must be kept "in front" of state and federal legislators because the flooding affects more than just citizens, it also affects commerce.
"If a company comes in and sees that our Interstates are closed for two summers in a row, they are not going to move here," he said.
Knauss said he would discuss forming a levee district with a levee attorney this week and report back to the board next week.
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