Carver seeks $3.35 million to repair levee after record 2024 crest; city outlines $13 million project

Mayor Courtney Johnson told the Capital Investment Committee on March 6 that Carver’s levee — built by volunteers after the 1965 flood — is aging, lacks engineering plans, and failed multiple times during the 2024 draw of the Minnesota River, which crested at 30.12 feet, breaking the 1965 record. The city requested $3,350,000 in state bonding toward a $13,000,000 total project that it says will correct deficiencies and allow FEMA certification.

Johnson said Carver previously received a $6,000,000 state appropriation in 2023 and has secured additional funding from the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) flood mitigation grant dollars, and congressionally designated spending. At the hearing she presented a funding breakdown and said the city has contributed $1,200,000. “With these efforts combined with help from the state, we are closer than we've ever been to seeing this project across the finish line,” she said.

Committee members asked how the 2023 appropriation related to the new request; Johnson said the earlier appropriation is part of the city’s total financing and the new request would address a remaining funding gap. The city emphasized the public-safety and insurance consequences of losing certification: property owners in Carver’s 100-year floodplain remain subject to costly flood insurance and limits on home improvements until a certified levee is in place. No formal committee vote was recorded during the presentation.