Louisville, KY -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District has awarded a contract to Holton construction for the Evansville Levee System repairs. The work is necessary to ensure the levee system operates as designed and continues to provide flood risk reduction benefits to Evansville homes and business.

"The goal is to operate the levee in a safe and reliable manner," said Theresa Beckham, Louisville District planning project manager.

Construction and rehabilitation work will begin on Monday, Sept. 9. The repairs will include fixing two flap gates resulting from the 2011 floods. Flood gates help to divert water during a flood event to provide flood risk reduction. The levee has also experienced "wave wash" which calls for repairs. Wave wash occurs when high water creates erosion over time lessoning the effectiveness and performance of the levee.  Typically, work to fix wave wash would mean stripping this area and re-grading it with earthen material to engineering specifications.

Although the levee is operated by the Evansville Vanderberg Levee Authority District, the Army Corps of Engineers still provides technical advice during high water events, flood fighting capabilities - if necessary - and repairs to the levee should it be damaged in a flood event. The Corps also inspects the levee. Because it is well-maintained by the Vanderberg Levee Authority District, the levee is part of the Corps' Levee Safety Program. This means that repairs can be 100 percent federally funded if damages to the levee were sustained in a flood. The current work will be at 100 percent federal funding.

The Corps has a strong partnership with the Evansville Vanderberg Levee Authority District, and the two entities work well together to ensure public safety by monitoring, inspecting and maintaining the levee components, according to Beckham.

The work will likely be finished by mid-January.