Flood protection system for Cedar Rapids too costly

Hopes for a levee system in Cedar Rapids took a body blow Monday as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced protection against the 2008 flood level will cost twice as much as the damage it would prevent.

The cost-benefit ratio won't improve when the Corps analyzes protection to the 100- and 500-year flood levels, Cedar Rapids City Manager Jim Prosser said. The cost of a 100- or 500-year levee system isn't significantly lower than that of a system that protects to the 2008 flood level, and the benefit drops with the level of the levee.

The Corps of Engineers can't recommend Congress to fund a levee project unless its benefits at least equal its cost. Congress can ignore Corps analysis and fund a project even without a recommendation, but “typically they don't,” said Ron Fournier, a spokesman for the Corps office in Rock Island, Ill.

Cedar Rapids Mayor-elect Ron Corbett said the future of levees in Cedar Rapids is up to the Congressional delegation - Sens. Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley, and Reps. Dave Loebsack and Bruce Braley.

“We always knew that a certain piece of this was going to be on their shoulders,” Corbett said. “Now that burden's just a little heavier.”

Flood zone policies could change with the news. The City Council may revisit its policy of denying Jumpstart housing rehab funds to flood homes in the levee construction zone, Corbett said. Some 550 homes in the construction zone have not been eligible for Jumpstart because the money was limited, and the city was concerned it would be wasted if the homes were eventually bought out to make way for a levee.

“There will certainly be some pressure from citizens to have us review that decision,” Corbett said.

The Corps will complete its study June 30, and calculate cost-benefit for several flood protection plans, Fournier, the Corps spokesman, said. Possibilities include protecting one side of the river but not the other, or limited protection for specific areas, such as the downtown.

“There may be a half-dozen alternatives that we can recommend, or there may be none,” Fournier said.

Just as not getting a Corps recommendation doesn't eliminate the possibility of federal funding for levees in Cedar Rapids, neither does a Corps recommendation guarantee funding.

Dozens of flood protection projects across the country have been authorized by Congress but haven't been funded, Fournier said.

Despite the setback, Corbett reaffirmed the city's commitment to building flood protection in Cedar Rapids.

“Cedar Rapids had an extraordinary event that hit a watermark that we never thought was possible. The game has changed,” Corbett said. “We have to today, in looking forward, put systems in place to protect people and protect businesses.”