Engineers say riverfront plans must address top-of-levee flood conditions as Army Corps review continues

Engineers reviewing a proposed riverfront development told the Lawrenceburg City Council during a Jan. 21 work session that key technical questions remain about how the project will behave when the Ohio River reaches the top of the levee, the condition used in the Army Corps of Engineers' review.

The engineers said their role as the levee'certifying authority is to ensure any new development on or adjacent to the levee does not jeopardize levee safety or the levee'certification process. "One of my roles is to make sure anything that gets developed or put adjacent to or on the levy doesn't jeopardize the safety of the levy," said John Mundell, who identified himself as the certifying engineer for the levee.

Why it matters: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA evaluate different flood conditions. The Corps looks at the top-of-levee elevation (the condition the levee was originally designed to resist), while FEMA reviews the 100-year (flood-insurance) condition. The engineers told the council there is roughly a 12-foot difference between the 100-year Ohio River elevation (about 490) and the top-of-levee elevation (about 502), so reviewers must evaluate both scenarios and the project's performance at…