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The Levee. A History of Building, Failure and Response.
Say “The Levee” to anyone who
lives in Lawrenceburg, or recognizes Lawrenceburg-Greendale, Dearborn County Indiana as their hometown, and likely you’ll conjure up a memory, and a story to go with it.
Anyone driving through Lawrenceburg on US 50 is likely to be aware that the city is surrounded by a levee to protect it from Ohio River floods.
But as massive and impressive as the levee is, it represents only a part of a complicated system operated by the Lawrenceburg Conservancy District.
There are huge pumps which can be used in case of need, and more than 100 relief wells that help keep underground water from eroding the bottom of the levee.
One of the pumps, located on Front Street, operates twenty-four hours a day removing storm water and percolating ground water that is always present.
The other pumps are used when high water makes it necessary.
All of them are backed up by generators in case of power failure.
Left: The Lawrenceburg levee serves many purposes. While a pleasant place to walk your dog, a view of its floodgates east of downtown reminds us of the engineering marvel that has defined our economic progress and protects our very existence.
The area east of Lawrenceburg in the city of Greendale is also protected by a levee created by upgrading a former railroad embankment that follows US 50 to its intersection with I-275.
At the end of Walnut Street and along the CSX railroad, as well as at the west side of US 50 at Tanners Creek, there are flood gates that can be closed in times of high water.
A brand new sliding gate has replaced the old fashioned one at US 50. The former gate required manual construction using steel beams as well as sand bags during a flood.
It has been closed only once during high water, in 1945.
Equally important are the 171 relief wells sunk at the toe of the levee for its entire length. They range from 60 to 105 feet in depth. They protect the levee from hidden damage that would occur from seep water created by the sheer weight of the river, which would inevitably erode the base of the levee if it were not prevented.
The entire installation is cared for by a staff of 5 people, including office workers.
Maintenance workers keep the levee mowed and clean, check out each pump and start each generator on a regular basis.
The LCD has a wide-ranging variety of missions, all according to Indiana law.
First and foremost is flood prevention and control, followed by improving drainage, providing for irrigation, developing forests, wildlife areas, parks and recreational areas in connection with water management. LCD is also responsible for protection from the loss of topsoil, storage of water for augmentation of stream flow, the