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Cape Girardeau Earns Flood Prevention Award

City of Cape Girardeau

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ St. Louis District presented a certificate of appreciation to the City of Cape Girardeau Flood Protection Systems on Feb. 24.

Mike Petersen, chief of public affairs for the Corp’s St. Louis District, said the city of Cape Girardeau regularly examines the levees between floods, and that set the distinguished the city. He said the added information gives the Army Corps a better picture of how the levee will respond to a flood and what projects are needed.

“This includes levee screenings, risk screenings, levy inspections,” Petersen said. “All of these efforts mean that we have a better picture of what that levy system is comprised of, how it will respond in a flood, where the greatest risks are, and it keeps people better informed. And being informed helps us reduce risk. So this certificate of appreciation is just to recognize the city’s partnership and it’s a great example of how that partnership and open communication can help us effectively reduce the risk from floods.”

The City of Cape Girardeau took over floodwall maintenance in 2008 and has worked with the Army Corps of Engineers since then to complete $12 million dollars worth of rehabilitation projects to the city’s flood protection systems

“The city of Cape of Cape Girardeau has been a fantastic partner in getting a project moved forward and helping us to stay informed and helping the public stay informed,” Petersen said. “So this is a great place to ... acknowledge their efforts and encourage other levee districts to do the same.”

The St. Louis district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has around ninety districts they oversee, and Cape Girardeau is the first to receive a certificate of appreciation in ten years.

The City’s Storm Water Coordinator Stan Polivick said the award was encouraging and means the city is doing a good job at flood prevention.

“We are thrilled, very flattered to be receiving the certificate,” Polivick said. “When they were telling me about it, I was like ‘that’s got to be a rare thing’ but I didn’t realize it was quite as rare as it is. So, we’re thrilled that we’ve done good enough work to earn it.”

The award was given at 6 p.m.on Feb. 24 at the Osage Centre. The presentation was followed by a flood preparedness workshop.