Wyoming Valley levee system (2024)

March 1936

The Susquehanna River crested in Wilkes-Barre at 33 feet. Flood waters flowed for miles across the Wyoming Valley. Wyoming Valley communities reported damages of $7 million. President Franklin D. Roosevelt allotted $43 million to the Works Progress Administration for flood relief, and local WPA officials recruited 48,000 workers to clean up damage throughout Pennsylvania. The flood devastation resulted in federal funding for a levee system to protect a flood stage of 36 feet.

May 1936

Congress approved the Flood Control Act of 1936, which made flood control a federal policy and officially recognized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the chief federal agency for flood control. The act also authorized the expenditure of $27 million on flood control in New York and Pennsylvania, and Roosevelt allocated an additional $2.5 million in special emergency funds to be used by the Army Corps to recruit members of the Civilian Conservation Corps and other kinds of relief labor.

November 1936

The Army Corps initiated construction of the Wyoming Valley Flood Control Project.

1937

In March, the Army Corps began directing the erection of the levee system on the west side of the river from the old Church Street dike through Nesbitt and Kirby parks and into Edwardsville. Failure of Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Township officials to agree on plans delayed work on the east side. Work on the proposed dike system for the River Common and the bank along Riverside Drive and into Hanover Township began in December. The project included the construction of seepage berms and relief walls to control seepage under levees and pumping stations to intercept sewers and toss sewage and drain water out into the river when the river was at flood levels.

1940

Construction began in Plymouth Borough on a levee, two pumping stations and drainage structures. The levee portion was completed prior to World War II, and the remainder was finished by 1948.

1953

Construction of the Swoyersville-Forty Fort levee began. In 1955, U.S. Rep. Dan Flood secured a federal appropriation of $625,000 to complete the final segment of the levee system. Construction is completed in 1957. The levee stretched from the area of Fort Street in Forty Fort to beyond the Wyoming Valley Airport into the West Wyoming.

June 1972

Tropical Storm Agnes roared into Northeastern Pennsylvania and New York State, and more than a foot and half of rain fell. Levees were overtopped and breached. The river rose to 40.91 feet, 18.9 feet above flood stage and 4 feet above levee protection. At its greatest extent, the flood was 5 miles wide and 35 miles long. The flood left 25,000 residents homeless. The property damage in the Wilkes-Barre area was estimated at nearly $1 billion in 1972 dollars.

1973

The initial phase of emergency repairs to the levee system was completed in January under a contract for remedial work. The next phase for permanent restoration was completed in April 1974. The repairs only raised levee protection a foot or 2 feet in some stretches and didn’t protect the valley from another Agnes-level flood.

September 1975

The remnants of Hurricane Eloise produced heavy rainfall. The repaired levees provided flood protection, and the crest at 35.06 feet was the second highest at the time.

July 1978

The Army Corps completed a comprehensive study of the Susquehanna River Basin and determined measures to improve flood protection of the valley.

October 1983

The Army Corps complete initial-phase designs of a flood-control project to protect valley residents from an Agnes-level flood.

October 1986

Congress approved a provision in the Water Resources Development Act, which U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski requested, to authorize an appropriation to design and construct the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project.

April 1993

President Bill Clinton introduced a budget, which included full funding for the levee-raising project. It was the first federal budget with full funding for the project since 1988.

January 1996

A blizzard was followed by rapidly warming temperatures and heavy rain. The river rose rapidly along its entire length and began to flood communities from the middle of New York State to the Chesapeake Bay. After the river crested at 34.45 feet in Wilkes-Barre, the third highest until 2004, President Clinton dedicated the resources of the federal government to raise levees to protect residents from a flood even greater than Agnes.

June 1996

Luzerne County commissioners created the county flood protection authority to be in charge of levee system operations and maintenance. Municipalities had been responsible.

May 1997

Construction on the Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project began in Exeter. It was estimated at that time the project would cost $145 million, with the federal government funding 75 percent, the state funding 12.5 percent and the county funding 12.5 percent. Luzerne County issued bonds for its obligation.

January 2003

Increased flood protection levels along the entire 15-mile levee system were finished. The official level of protection increased to 41 feet, but the actual level of protection is 44 feet. The project also included improvements to 21 pump stations. The overall cost of the project had exceeded $250 million.

September 2004

The improved levee system provided protection from another flood. The river crested at 34.96 feet, the third highest at the time.

June 2006

The river swelled from heavy rainfall, and county commissioners ordered evacuations from flood-prone and levee-protected areas due to concerns the river was going to reach an Agnes level. The river crested at 34.14 feet.

Sept. 7, 2011

County commissioners ordered another evacuation due to heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee.

Sept. 9, 2011

The river crested at 42.66 feet. It was a new record and 1.75 feet above the level caused by Agnes. Work to sand boils on the protected-side of levees helped prevent breaches.

Sept. 10, 2011

After the river receded and officials determined the levees were not going to breach, residents from evacuated areas were allowed to return to their homes. Unprotected areas in the county suffer unprecedented damage.

Originally Published:

Wyoming Valley levee system (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Reed Wilderman

Last Updated:

Views: 6178

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (52 voted)

Reviews: 83% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Reed Wilderman

Birthday: 1992-06-14

Address: 998 Estell Village, Lake Oscarberg, SD 48713-6877

Phone: +21813267449721

Job: Technology Engineer

Hobby: Swimming, Do it yourself, Beekeeping, Lapidary, Cosplaying, Hiking, Graffiti

Introduction: My name is Reed Wilderman, I am a faithful, bright, lucky, adventurous, lively, rich, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.