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Corps of Engineers closes Missouri River Levee System L-536 breach near Corning, Missouri

Published Aug. 13, 2020
Levee repairs completed to B breach on Missouri River levee system L-536 near Corning, Missouri.

Levee repairs completed to B breach on Missouri River levee system L-536 near Corning, Missouri.

OMAHA, Neb. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District closed another breach along the Missouri River Levee System L-536, northwest of Corning, Missouri Saturday.

The repair effort was part of an $8.74 million contract awarded to AECOM Technical Services, Inc. out of Los Angeles, California. The closure returns this portion of the levee to a 25-year level of protection, and will improve flood risk management capabilities and allow for follow-on construction efforts to continue.

“It is great that the team has been able to find a way to continue to push forward through all of the different challenges and are able to start making substantial progress on repairing the L-536 levee system that was decimated after the flooding in 2019,” said Corina Zhang, Resident Engineer for the L-536 Levee System. “This project has truly been a team effort between the local landowners, levee sponsors, other agencies such as the Nature Conservancy and NRCS, as well as the USACE team, as everyone recognizes the importance of getting this levee system repaired.”

Two breaches remain on the L-536 system and repair efforts are currently underway. The remainder of the system will be restored by means of a new levee setback.

There are more than 350 miles of levees on the Missouri, Platte and Elkhorn rivers, and tributaries that experienced significant flood damage since March 2019. Due to the magnitude of damage along these levees, repair efforts will take an extended period of time to complete.

Omaha District’s focus remains on ensuring the safety of citizens and communicating the conditions on the river systems to all of our partners and stakeholders. The Corps continues to provide flood fight assistance to state, local and tribal government agencies.

For regular updates on the repair efforts to flood control structures in the Missouri River Basin, visit the Omaha District’s System Restoration web page at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Omaha-District-System-Restoration-Team/.


Release no. 20-083