100-Year Levee Fixes
Public safety is the number one priority for the City of Dallas in all areas. For the Dallas Floodway, the Levee System protects lives and billions of dollars in property value.
After Hurricane Katrina, a National Levee Safety Program was instituted resulting in more rigorous and nationally uniform criteria for inspecting levee systems. Under this new criteria, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued Periodic Inspection No. 9 in March 2009 and rated the Dallas Levee System "Unacceptable". As a result, the City lost its 100-Year accreditation of the levee system which began FEMA's process to remap the areas behind the levees.
The City went into action to complete the 100-year flood protection improvements and to work with the Corps on the levee fixes and process to go forward. In February 2012, the City received the Corps' approval on the Section 408 application for the City's proposed 100-year levee fixes. This approval allows the City to proceed with the proposed modifications to the levees. Plans and specifications have been bid and awarded to a contractor. Construction is anticipated to start in June 2012 (weather permitting).
Current status of the Dallas Floodway System and the 100-Year Levee Remediation
The current proposed plan for the 100-Year Levee Improvements is to install 3.0 miles of cutoff walls at the East Levee and 0.5 mile of cutoff wall at the west Levee.
The construction schedule is:
Actions to Date
- January 2012 - Advertised for sealed construction bids
- February 2012 - Bids were opened
- February 2012 - Corps approved Section 408 application for the City's proposed 100-year levee remediation
- March 28, 2012 - Dallas City Council approved the award of the construction contract
Path Forward
- June 2012 - Estimated start of construction (weather permitting)
- December 2012 - Estimated completion of construction (weather permitting)
