Fix levee before the next flood

My aunt and uncle lived on 149th Street in the "back of the Point" when a devastating flood struck Point Place in April, 1973. Water rose four feet in their living room, destroying nearly all of their possessions, including some they had replaced after another flood just five months earlier.

An amphibious vehicle evacuated my four cousins. The neighborhood lost power and was barricaded to protect flood-damaged homes from looters. My aunt, uncle, and cousins were displaced for nearly six months while their home was restored.

After the flood, local leaders persuaded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a levee around the Point Place peninsula. We should keep that event and its aftermath in mind as we consider how to respond now to the threat of another disastrous flood.

Point Place's flood control system was finished in the mid-1980s. The dike cost about $14.3 million. Home-owners were assessed roughly $2.3 million to help defray the system's cost.

Easements were purchased from waterfront property owners and deed restrictions were attached to properties. Nothing could be built on the dike "from toe to toe."

After lawsuits and some variances, the Corps completed construction and the City of Toledo took over maintenance of the dike. Every year, city engineers and Corps officials would inspect the dike system.

And every year, the dike passed - until last year. Among the issues that caused the failed inspection were settling of the dike in some areas and the growth of trees and other vegetation.

More problematic, though, were roughly 300 illegal encroachments - decks, docks, fences, gazebos, and other structures - that were built to enhance the waterfront lifestyle but threatened to compromise the dike's integrity.

Some owners were not aware of these restrictions when they bought their properties. Other residents ignored the restrictions because they saw neighbors build on the dike without incident. The city even issued building permits for a few encroachments.

The potential loss of these structures has upset waterfront property owners. Who can blame them?

The Corps of Engineers concedes that the regulations have not changed. But enforcement of the regulations has, in response to disastrous floods in other parts of the country. We have exhausted all avenues for federal leniency. We must make changes to pass inspection.

Apart from the Corps of Engineers inspection process, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has revised flood-plain maps across the country. On the proposed map for Lucas County, the 1,427 properties protected by Point Place's flood control system will be included in the flood plain unless the levee is certified.

The city hired an engineering firm to assess what needs to be done to maintain certification and pass Corps of Engineers inspection. The firm concluded that the freeboard height of the levee must be raised about 10 inches overall, to account for the possibility of a 100-year open-coast flood of Lake Erie.

That will require the removal of all encroachments, the firm said. Depending on the final design, our experts tell us the project will cost between $1.2 million and $2 million.

If the levee is decertified, owners of the properties behind the dike will have to buy flood insurance. The owner of an average Point Place home would face premiums that approach $1,000 a year. Just one year of premiums for these homes would cost about as much as it would cost to fix the dike.

Such a big new expense would have major consequences for Point Place property owners. It would impair property values, home ownership rates, and the neighborhood's business district. Worse, if the levee is not certified, the neighborhood would not be eligible for federal disaster aid if another flood hits.

The best public policy would be to make necessary repairs to the levee. The city has committed $900,000 in this year's capital improvement plan, and is expected to allocate another $300,000 next year, to assure the dike's certification.

To cover project costs that exceed capital improvement funding, protected properties would be assessed based on their square footage. Estimates peg a typical assessment at $100 a year.

Considering the potential cost of flood insurance to the Point Place community, and the even greater cost a loss of federal disaster aid would incur, I believe the city's path is clear: Fix the levee now.

Lindsay Webb lives in Point Place and represents District 6 on Toledo City Council.