According to Starke County Surveyor Bill Crase, four breached levees in the Starke County and La Porte County areas have recently been fixed, while work on one site is being postponed due to the current levels of the Kankakee River.
Surveyor Crase explained that while working on the final section of a levee, workers realized that the river wasn’t dropping. He said if they sealed it up, the pressure would have caused the water to burst out elsewhere so they weren’t able to fix it just yet. While they have slowed the breach down a bit, Crase said crews continue to monitor the spot and are waiting for the river to drop before patching it up any further.
Additionally, crews have been working to assist the DNR with flood response. He said over the last few days, they’ve been helping them out at the Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Preserve to fix a few areas inside that were causing major flooding on Highway 8. He said just yesterday, they were working on a problem spot in the Yellow River behind DNR Headquarters to fix a breach there.
Crase mentioned that all the flood response work that’s been completed lately could not have been done without the help of a number of local volunteers who have been pitching in.
He explained, “We’ve had several of our area farmers step up and help through this process. They’ve assisted the county and assisted the DNR and individuals who came out to help carry sandbags…”
Aside from local farmers and volunteers, members of the Starke County Highway Department and many businesses including Beck’s seed company, Dirt Works, NISPCO and the Starke County Co-Op have provided assistance as well. Crase extended major gratitude to everyone willing to sacrifice their time and effort to help with the response.
