Levees need costly repairs

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - You'd never guess it now, but spring runoff used to cause regular flooding of the Rio Grande here in Albuquerque and all along the mid-river.

The threat is now much less due to dams upstream, but the Army Corps of Engineers said that the old flood control levees still need to be rebuilt.

The Corps said 200 miles of dirt levees along river from Bernalillo to just past Socorro need to meet their updated standards.

"They new levees need to be designed for a 100-year storm," said Subhas Shah, CEO of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, the agency that owns and maintains the levees.

Although that kind of storm is not likely, Shah said they must comply with the feds' demands.

"The middle Rio Grande levees, some of the levees are 50 years and older," he said.

They need to be raised and engineered differently than in the past.

Along with the levees not being tall enough and high enough, there is also concern that vegetation growing along the levees could be weakening them.

Roots from vegetation could create cavities underneath the levees, allowing water to seep through.

The Corps said trees and vegetation close to the levees need to go.

The cost to redo all the inadequate levees will top $400 million. Shah said they are aiming for federal and local dollars to pay for repairs.

If the levees are not up to snuff by 2013, the Federal Emergency Management Agency could redraw the floodplain map. That would mean flood insurance costs will go up, and homeowners who did not need insurance before could need it soon.

The conservancy district has about $10 million of the $400 million needed.

That first ten will be spent next year on the San Acacia Levee north of Socorro.