AUGUSTA, Kan. (AP) Officials in a southeast Kansas town devastated by flooding nearly 15 years ago say work on a new levee is progressing slightly ahead of schedule.
The Augusta Daily Gazette reports the levee protecting the west city of Augusta is expected to be complete by the end of August, at a cost of more than $6.6 million.
Groundbreaking on the levee along the Whitewater River took place in July of last year.
Part of Augusta lies at the confluence of the Whitewater and Walnut Rivers. In October 1998, more than 650 homes and roughly 90 businesses were damaged when water overtopped the levee following days of heavy rain.
Augusta’s old levee was built in the 1930s and designed for a 100-year flood. The new wall is designed for a 500-year flood.
