Warren County is considering an agreement with Marthasville-area landowners and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to repair damage to the levee that borders Charrette Creek near the Missouri River.

An agreement currently under review would have USACE contribute 80 percent of the cost of rebuilding two sections of levee north of where Charrette Creek flows into the river. The project will consist of building nearly 1,300 feet of new levee behind the remains of old levee sections that have become eroded and damaged, according to project documents. Dirt from the old levee sections and from nearby fields will be used for the construction.

The levee protects large sections of farmland from flooding whenever Charrette Creek swells with flash floods or backflow from the Missouri River.

The cost of the project is currently estimated at $83,470, of which USACE would pay $66,776.

For the remaining 20 percent of the cost, landowners who are members of the Tuque Creek Levee District will provide labor for the project valued at $4,332, while the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency would contribute $12,362, according to the proposed cost-share agreement.

To make this cost-share agreement happen, landowners in the levee district require a partnership with the county government. This is because USACE requires a local public entity to sign on as a “sponsor” for any cost-share agreements, said Presiding County Commissioner Joe Gildehaus.

Gildehaus said the county government isn’t involved in funding the project or providing any of the labor. It’s simply listed as the local public partner for the project in order to bring in federal dollars, Gildehaus said.

USACE representative Joe Sciaurd said USACE will provide the lion’s share of the work to repair the levee. The levee district (and by extension, the county government) is responsible for making sure appropriate easements and land use agreements are in place.

Sciaurd said work on the levy should hopefully take 45 to 60 days once the project is initiated. The State Emergency Management Agency wants project costs to be expended by June, Sciaurd added.

Dale Diermann, representing Tuque Creek Levee District, said the work provided by USACE and the in-kind labor from local landowners will be relatively simple once the cooperation agreement is signed.

“It’s just pushing (the dirt) back. It’s on the edge, falling into the slough and caved off to the track you drive in. We just want to move it back 50 or 100 feet from that edge,” Diermann told the county commission.

Commissioner Gildehaus said the county plans to have all the paperwork taken care of quickly so that the repairs can get started soon.