City working on repairs to levee that sustained vehicle damage

Repairs are soon to be underway after Red Oak’s levee was damaged by youth on April 2.
The Red Oak Police Department says the incident occurred in the 500 block of West Coolbaugh Street, also known as the boat ramp area, where the levee system on the west side of Red Oak was vandalized. The damage was located mainly just south of Coolbaugh by the boat landing and traveling around 600 feet to the south near a floodgate.
Halle Rachelle Baldwin, 19, Red Oak, as well as two 17-year-old male juveniles of Red Oak and one 17-year-old male juvenile from Carson were arrested and charged with criminal mischief third degree, and Baldwin was later held on $2,000 cash bond and the juveniles were transported to the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs.
City administrator Lisa Kotter said the levee damage was quickly observed the morning of April 3, and social media identified the suspects.
“The levy is adjacent to the street department and wastewater, and those employees  noticed that there was damage by 8 o’clock that morning. Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy and I decided that it made sense to utilize social media to our advantage. Chief Rhamy put a Facebook post out there asking for help and figuring out how the damage had occurred. Within about 15 minutes we had evidence of teenagers and a young adult that had been out there the night before. On the criminal side, the courts and the justice system will have to deal with that,” said Kotter.
Upon a review of the damage to the levee, Kotter said the estimates for repairs are costly.
“We are estimating somewhere between $4,000 and $5,000 in damage. There were ruts made in the levee, which we will have to refill with dirt, and we have to reseed everything as well as do some inspections to make sure that the integrity of the levy which protects us from flooding is still there. We’re working with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make sure that whatever we do returns the integrity of the levy,” stated Kotter.
Any damage to the levee, Kotter said, is risky, not only to the town but to the organizations that monitor the floodplains.
“If anyone looks at the floodplain map, there’s areas surrounding the creek that are in the floodplain and then there’s a whole section on our flood plain map that’s orange that ‘says protected by the levy,’ and because of that, we only have to consider a 500 year flood instead of a 100 year flood,” advised Kotter. “What’s important to remember is that if the river ever flooded and the levee was damaged on the side closest to the river, the first point of contact on the levy is going to be there where the damage is and that’s why it’s so important. If it was on the other side of the levee it’s not as critical but if it ever was compromised and the levee gives then the flood water is no longer held back. The levee itself protects a wide area of the town in the event of a major flooding incident.”
While joyriding on the levee may seem innocent to some, Kotter said they’re trying to drive home the point of the liability the community could face if the levee was damaged and unrepairable.
“This isn’t just about kids mudding or about young people having fun, this is about a multi-million dollar structure that, just to look at, looks like a pile of dirt. But it’s a pile of dirt that protects a community of 5,500 people from flooding. People need to understand that’s why this situation was taken so seriously and one of the things that I hope through the restitution process is that the people that were involved understand the importance of the levee. I’d like to see them do some education and learn as a part of their restitution to the community,” explained Kotter. “It’s not just about the money, it’s about people understanding the whole focus of our housing study and having students with Iowa State University here is about how we can do better with the properties that we have in the floodplain. We are significantly impacted by the floodplain and preventing damage to something that is so instrumental in protecting the community is critical.”
In addition to education, Kotter said they are looking at means of preventing access to the levee, including the current closure of the public river access.
“We will be looking at the possibility of additional cabling that will not allow anyone to enter the levee at any points. The easiest levee access point is the boat landing. There’s a potential that the boat landing could be permanently closed if we feel like we cannot find a way to keep people off of the levee while allowing people to be able to access the boat landing itself. The DNR has instructed us that the decision to re-open or permanently close the boat landing point will be a local decision and we have to weigh all the options and come to a decision.”
Any damage to the levee, Kotter said, could also impact members of the community who are paying for flood insurance protection.
“I think anyone who pays for flood insurance can attest that it’s not cheap and the reason we have those insurance policies available and protecting us is because we enforce the floodplain ordinances, we continue to inspect our levee, and maintaining its integrity is important. Incidents like this degrade the integrity of the structure,” Kotter commented. “The levee stretches from the wastewater treatment plant to Bomgaars. Even if there’s only one breech, water can spread everywhere, and if there was enough of it due to a major flooding event, it could result in the majority of the town being underwater.”
While Kotter said she believes there’s been a history of the public accessing the levee, incidents have not been addressed as aggressively as this most recent incident.
“I take my obligation as a floodplain administrator in the community seriously and so it’s important to me that we are doing everything that we can because as with anything, things are good till it’s not. If there was a flood event and lost the levee I don’t want to be in the position of having to look back and wonder if the integrity wouldn’t have been compromised if we had done something more preventative. I think it’s really important for people to understand this isn’t a joke. It’s not just a ‘let kids be kids’ situation. Kids can be kids, but they can’t damage property. The situation is much more elevated because the property that they damaged is something that is used to protect us,” said Kotter.
While all the damage has yet to be assessed, at this point, Kotter believes the city has dodged a bullet.
“In my conversations with the DNR and the Army Corps of Engineers we are hopeful that the damage is more superficial than structural. There are some ruts that I still need to go measure before we fill them in. There are some that are as deep as 12 to 18 inches so those could be getting into the deeper area where we may have to do something other than just refilling with dirt and planting grass but at this point, it appears, and the DNR and Corps are hopeful, that the levee’s integrity is still sound,” Kotter commented.
Kotter added that the boat landing closure is being treated as temporary at this time, and the city is working with the Corps and the DNR to determine if the similar cabling that’s been added over the last year can be added to the entrance to the boat landing all the way down to the river.