Indiana city needs $5M to finish Wabash levee improvements

VINCENNES, Ind. (AP) - Officials in a southwestern Indiana city say they need about $5 million to complete improvements to a Wabash River levee to ensure that it remains federally accredited.

The city of Vincennes expects that its earthen flood-control levee will be re-certified next year by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

But the Vincennes Sun-Commercial reports that the historic community that was Indiana's first city, founded in 1732, first needs to replace seepage relief wells that extend about 3,000 feet along the levee.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that the current relief wells must be replaced because they date to the 1950s.

Mayor Joe Yochum says the city will likely look at a combination of sources to raise the $5 million that's needed for the well-replacement effort.

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Information from: Vincennes Sun-Commercial, http://www.vincennes.com