Lake Wa Con-Da Levee Restoration Information

Background: The Lake Wa Con-Da – Missouri River Right Bank Levee System was damaged during the 2019 Flood Event, leading to the Levee Sponsor submitting a Public Law (PL) 84-99 Rehabilitation Assistance request to the US Army Corps of Engineers – Omaha District.

Current Action:  Securing real estate for the levee repair effort is currently underway. The purpose of this rehabilitation project is to repair the levee system to its authorized level of flood risk management.

Next Steps:

  1. Advertise and award the levee repair construction contract.
  2. Repair the levee system to its authorized level of flood risk management.
  3. Conduct a follow-on damage assessment of the levee once the Missouri River water levels recede to determine if there is more damage to the levee system that is eligible for PL 84-99 Rehabilitation Assistance.
 

Status Update:

03 February 2021 - The levee sponsor continues to work to secure the necessary real estate for the levee repair efforts. This includes the acquisition and demolition of multiple residential properties to allow for the construction of the required seepage berm along the levee system. Once the real estate is secured by the levee sponsor, this contract can be advertised for construction. 

08 September 2020 - Design for this levee repair is complete. The sponsor is planning to have all the necessary real estate acquired by early 2021 and construction is anticipated to begin mid-spring 2021. 

16 July 2020 - Design for this levee repair is complete. Due to real estate impacts associated with the levee repair,  the USACE team is working with the levee sponsor to determine if the levee will be repaired by the Corps or if the sponsor is going to pursue other avenues for repairing the levee system.

10 June 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project. The team also met with the levee sponsor and stakeholders on 05 June 2020 to discuss the path forward for the repair project.

08 May 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

23 April 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

10 April 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

16 March 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

04 March 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

13 February 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project. The team also inspected an additional damage location that had been previously submerged and is working the approval process to include this area in the project design.

31 January 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

10 January 2020 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

18 December 2019 - The USACE team is continuing to work with the AECOM/URS design team to develop the design for this levee repair project.

06 December 2019 - The AECOM/URS design team is scheduled to submit the 90% levee repair design to the USACE team for review in mid-December.

22 November 2019 - The USACE team conducted the 60% design review conference on 15 November 2019. The AECOM/URS design team is currently working on revising and updating the design and is scheduled to submit the 90% levee repair design to the USACE team for review in mid-December.

08 November 2019 - The AECOM/URS design team is scheduled to submit the 60% levee repair design to the USACE team for review in mid-November.

24 October 2019 - The AECOM/URS design team anticipates submitting the 60% levee repair design to the USACE team for review in early November.

13 October 2019 - The AECOM/URS team is continuing their site investigation, drilling and survey, efforts.  The design team is expected to submit the 60% design plans in November.  Note: there was an error in the last update, the 60% design is due to the USACE team for review in November not October.

27 September 2019 – The design Contractor will submit the 60% levee repair design plans to the USACE team for technical review next week.

13 September 2019 – Design contract to repair the Lake Wa Con-Da levee system was awarded to URS Group, Inc. of Omaha, NE in the amount of $459,086.62 on 05 SEP 2019.  This design is currently scheduled to be complete by the end of the calendar year.

06 September 2019 – The team is finalizing the design contract with URS/AECOM and anticipates an award by the end of next week.  Following this award the team will setup an initial kick-off meeting and site visit, as well as develop an overall schedule for the design effort.

29 August 2019 – The design contract for Lake Wa Con-Da levee system will be awarded within the next two weeks.

23 August 2019 – Team continues engineering and design work on repairs for the Lake Wa Con-Da levee system. Upon completion of design by the end of 2019, a construction contract will be advertised and awarded to repair the system.

05 August 2019 – Engineering and Design (E&D) work continues for rehabilitating the Lake Wa Con-Da levee system.  The team is still anticipating to be done with the E&D process by the end of the calendar year.

08 July 2019 – Engineering and Design (E&D) work is ongoing for rehabilitating the Ames Diking project. The team is anticipating to be done with the E&D process by the end of the calendar year.

15 June 2019 – An initial site damage assessment and economic analysis has been completed.  From this initial assessment the USACE team has determined that there are damages to the levee system that are eligible for PL 84-99 Rehabilitation Assistance.  It was also noted by the assessment team that parts of the levee system couldn’t be assessed due to high water levels, and a follow-on damage assessment would be needed in the future.

NOAA River Level Observations & Forecasts

NOAA Water Gauge Levels

Lake Wa Con-Da Imagery

The USACE team conducted a site visit with the URS/AECOM team for the Lake Wa Con-Da levee repair project design on Sep. 24, 2019.
Photo documents an aerial view of the levee at Lake Wa Con-Da in Cass County, Neb.,Mar. 16, 2019, resulting from a major runoff event. (Photo by USACE, Omaha District)

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