Project Description: The Big Five Levee system is comprised of approximately 54 miles of levee located in both Alexander county, Illinois and Union county, Illinois. The levee system includes the Preston, Clear Creek, East Cape Girardeau, and North Alexander Drainage and Levee Districts (D&LD) and has a history of both underseepage and interior flooding.  The Preston D&LD includes 14.9 miles of the Big Five levee system in Union county above the Ohio River. The Clear Creek D&LD includes 20.6 miles of levee in Alexander County. The East Cape Girardeau D&LD includes 10.9 miles of levee and includes located in the northern end of Alexander County. The North Alexander D&LD incorporated 5.15 miles of levee. The Big Five levee system is one part of the Alton to Gale levee system, protecting about 49,000 acres of agricultural and forestland.

Intended Project Outcome: 

• a Levee System Emergency Action Plan that the Big Five non-federal sponsors will take ownership of for implementation and make future updates as necessary, and
• a levee-incident specific Evacuation Plan that local county and municipal officials will take ownership of for implementation and make future updates as necessary.

The final report was completed on August 4, 2022 and is available for all partners