Without more than $30 million worth of work on Tulsa County’s levee system, flood insurance rates could go up.
The system’s toe drains and pumps aren’t in good shape, and some sections need to be raised, District 12 Levee Commissioner Todd Kilpatrick told Tulsa city councilors this week.
"[Those] are the three things that are keeping us from being accredited and also making us unacceptable to the Corps of Engineers," Kilpatrick said. "Total costs for those are looking right at $34 million for those three things."
If that work isn’t done, the levee system won’t meet FEMA certifications. Not meeting FEMA standards would mean much higher rates for some residents and businesses.
Some parts of the levee system need to be three feet higher.
"Thirty-seven hundred linear feet of A and 8,500 linear feet of levee B — that raises the top three feet above the 100-year [flood] level. That's the FEMA standard," Kilpatrick said.
The Corps estimated all repairs would cost $34 million, but federal funding is in short supply.
