CONWAY, Ark — It's almost been a year since the historic flood waters moved through Central Arkansas. The Lollie Levee was one of the structures that was impacted by the floods.
The 80-year-old levee breached and almost collapsed, but thankfully held on until the waters subsided.
Now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has created a plan to get its strength back.
The federal organization is paying for 100% of the repairs. The cost has not yet been determined because the final plans have not been approved yet.
To get the levee back to its original condition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will remove all the old wasted material surrounding the barrier.
Then, new material will be added to the levee's weak spot.
"Right now, we have permission to gather data on certain land through the land owners that the Levee Board gets for us," said Johnathan Palmer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "With that information, we will see where we can get material from to rebuild the levee and the footprint to properly install the levee."
The Levee Board received a $46,000 grant from the Arkansas Natural Resource Commission to maintain the levee for the next couple years. It will go toward grounds keeping around the levee and a new gate that is currently not operational.
"It means everything. The important part is that we kept the levee in good shape. It's one of the better ones," said Jack Bell from the Levee Board.