Where Are We Now?

Cherry Creek & Milk River Levee System is a vital piece of the city’s infrastructure system that is not only critical to the welfare and safety of our community but also bogged down in federal regulation. An array of complex issues and opinions as to the solutions necessary to keep the Levee system in compliance and meeting the needs of the community keep the Levee system at the forefront of the city’s attention.

The southernmost portion of the city of Glasgow borders the Milk River and Cherry Creek waterways and the associated flood plains. The Glasgow – Cherry Creek LB & Milk River LB Levee System was built in 1938. As a Federal Flood Damage Reduction Project, the Glasgow Levee is subject to oversight by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under Public Law 84-99 program. Additionally, under PL 84-99, the city of Glasgow is the public sponsor and as such is required to operate and maintain the flood control system in accordance with USACE standards.

The Glasgow Levee is approximately 2.32 miles in length and includes tie-off points, five storm drainage gates and multiple small-diameter drainage structures and appurtenances. The area protected by the Levee system is approximately 488 acres with a direct population at risk of 1,800 people and a total population impacted of 3,350 people. Virtually all critical infrastructure and services for the city lay within the leveed flood protection area as well as the county government, county as well as city law enforcement, and regional federal law enforcement.

The Glasgow Levee has come under mounting scrutiny by the Army Corps of Engineers to meet recent and updated standards brought on by the extreme flooding and weather conditions experienced throughout the country over the last decade. Although mired by opinions and speculation, national as well as global experts and scientists relate most of these extreme conditions to the effects of global warming.

Opinions on the cause of changing weather patterns aside, the Army Corps of Engineers’ regulation and standards are very real and very much a hurdle for the city of Glasgow keeping the Levee system part of the PL 84-99 Program. The criteria which the USACE mandates the Levee meet is considerably different than the existing condition of the Levee. The Levee was built in 1938 in the existing community and 77 years has lapsed for the Levee to be absorbed into the folds of Glasgow’s south-side neighborhood. Over those 77 years, buildings have been built and torn down, and the neighborhood has gotten used to utilizing the area where Levee is located as part of the neighborhood backyard. Current USACE standards seek to treat all Levee areas the same, so criteria must be met that would apply to a brand new, recently built Levee system.

The single biggest hurdle facing the Levee system is building encroachments. Numerous other deficiencies affect the current standing of the Glasgow Levee, but most of those are items that can be addressed during regular maintenance of the system over time.

Addressing the realization that communities could not just be dropped from the PL 84-99 Program instantaneously, the USACE instituted a temporary program to give public sponsors a period of time to respond to their Levee system’s compliance and attempt to meet updated standards. That program is titled the “System-Wide Infrastructure Framework” Plan (SWIF). Glasgow is currently working on submitting its SWIF Plan for approval. To date, the city has submitted four draft copies of the draft SWIF and appears to be close to receiving an approved plan back from the USACE. The SWIF plan is a very complex, detailed plan to address all issues and concerns that have affected the Levee system’s compliance over a long period of time.

The importance for the city to remain in the PL 84-99 Program is eligibility for Federal Disaster Funding in the event of catastrophic flooding in the protected area. Directly related to disaster eligibility is the designation of the protected area. As it stands, the Glasgow Levee System ensures that all area in town south and southwest of Hwy. 2 is not classified as being located within the flood plain. If that designation is not recognized by FEMA, then insurance and lending institutions will classify the properties in that area as being located in the flood plain. That would not only have a drastic effect on property values, but it would also hurt development and private insurance rates for properties.

Recognizing the need for immediate and committed action in the matter, the City Council appointed the Glasgow Levee Committee. The City of Glasgow Levee Committee is an advisory committee to the city of Glasgow that was conceived to assist the city with drafting a comprehensive SWIF plan. Ultimately the purpose of the SWIF plan is to fulfill USACE criteria to ensure the annual inspections meet the necessary conditions and the Levee is placed back in an active status under the PL 84-99 Program.

Much preliminary work has gone into establishing the current status of the Levee including, but not limited to, right-of-way searches, record combining and compiling, title searches, and a surveying contractor has been employed to lay out and establish the center line and right-of-way limits of the original Levee system.

As the Levee Committee has reviewed and examined all the issues associated with compliance, it became apparent that there are many, many variables that come into play on any given course of action. This in turn made it clear that expert input in the form of a Feasibility Study/Risk Analysis Study would be necessary to give the city direction as to which courses of action were feasible and which might not be. The committee drafted an RFP and is currently in the process of selecting a consulting firm to put together the study. This study will be very expensive and cost the city over $100,000 to complete.

As the Levee Committee seeks a long-term solution to the compliance issues, the city Public Works Department has been working on improving the deficiencies that can be addressed now. The county has worked on clearing and slope restoration on the section of the Levee that runs in the county. City crews worked all summer long and intermittently throughout the rest of the past couple of years to get the Levee system into the best shape possible. During this time, the city has worked on tasks such as continual mowing, rodent control, tree trimming and clearing, bank stabilization and inspection of storm water systems penetrating the Levee. By way of example to show the level of maintenance on the Levee, only three short years ago the animal budget for the Levee was less than $10,000 a year. The current budget that the council recently passed allocates $100,500 to the Levee system.

In the meantime, as the long-term SWIF plan is being drafted and continual maintenance occurs, the city and the Levee Committee are being proactive in seeking potential funding sources to ensure the city is able to do all the work that is necessary to bring this all together and provide a favorable outcome for the community. Sources such as the Montana Department of Commerce, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Montana Silver Jackets, Community Development Block Grant Program, Rural Development and the National Disaster Resilience Grant Program have all been considered.

The city of Glasgow is blessed to have the following talented people in our community who make up the Levee committee: Larry Mires, Tanja Fransen, Mike Kaiser, John Fontaine, Rick Seiler, Dan Carney, John Lamb, Rod Karst, Melanie Sorenson, Robert Kompel (Public Works director) and Alicia Doke (Levee secretary) whom have all donated hundreds of hours of their time and have saved the city thousands of dollars.

While much work has occurred already at this point in time of this project, a long road stretches ahead. The city of Glasgow is thankful for dedicated staff, local government partners and resourceful Levee Committee members that are all part of the solution to the Levee project. We are confident that by working together we can achieve a realistic course of action that will benefit the community and continue to keep Glasgow a healthy, safe community that we are all proud to call home.

Mayor Becky Erickson

Public Works Director

Robert Kompel