Page 40 - LDC FlipBook demo

Above, top to bottom: Lid to new submersible pump. Emergency generator at Station 5.
By April, spending for planning and progress on the west side levee totaled $4.2 million. In May 2002, demolition of several buildings on State Road 48 near Tanners Creek had begun.
In July, the LCD agreed to contribute $500,000 to the Memorial to the Common Man to be placed above the Walnut Street floodgate as part of the Lawrenceburg Bicentennial celebration.
The first glimmer of what would become a major project arose in August when LCD was asked to help with soccer fields.
By November, the expense of renovating pump houses, repairing levee damage done by groundhogs, the addition of riprap, and various other programs, paid off handsomely. The Corps of Engineers inspection rated the levee as “very well maintained and managed.”
Jim Knippenberg and Dave Lorey were elected in January of 2003, with Barry Nanz, Larry Miller and E.B. Seitz as the other members.
With plentiful financing available, the success of the Greendale levee extension brought about another proposal, which would extend the new protection even further east. Unfortunately, feasibility studies revealed almost insurmountable problems with drainage and the idea was never carried out.
The western extension faltered until fall of 2004 when the city of Lawrenceburg briefly considered resuming construction, and in January of 2005 notified LCD that the city was once again interested, and LCD agreed to work with city officials.
Meanwhile in July of 2003, a video examination of 45 of the aging relief wells revealed numerous problems.
Some were filling with debris and all of them had evidence of corroding pipes.
The next month, the board proposed four projects: replacement of the cumbersome US 50 floodgate with
a sliding gate; closing the flood gate leading to the I&M power plant; altering the slope of the Greendale levee at Argosy Casino; and contributing to the walk and bike trail from Lawrenceburg to Greendale.
In January of 2004, Steve Karsteter replaced Berry Nanz on the board and Larry Miller was re-elected.
The 2004 budget was $5,420,315.
A final decision was made in March to move the LCD office to the new maintenance building at the Fairgrounds.
And in August, the levee walkway in Greendale was blacktopped.
But a disappointment was in the air. After an initial overture from the city concerning the possibility of completing the west side levee, it became a dead issue due to lack of support.
In March of 2006, word came from the Corps of Engineers that soil testing would be necessary in a small slippage area of the levee south of US 50 by Tanners Creek. It was eventually decided to test for two years in a row before deciding on any action.
The LCD had been attempting for several years to force Hoosier Outdoor Advertising company to remove its billboards from the Greendale levee. In July of 2005, the issue appeared to be resolved and the company was to remove its signs by the end of the year.