The agency tasked with improving Mississippi River levees in southwestern Illinois says it has a five-year, $161 million plan to get the job done.
The Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention District Council revealed the proposal for upgrades to the flood defenses in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties on June 15. Most of the funding will come from a quarter-cent sales tax collected in the three counties since 2009.
The 74 miles of levees protect a flood plain stretching from Alton south to Columbia.
The plan still requires approval by the council next month.
Officials began planning levee improvements after the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced in 2007 it would declare the levees functionally useless, requiring thousands of property owners to buy expensive flood insurance.
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