DURANT - The temporary cofferdam at the Cumberland Levee repair site has been reinforced with a 36” windrow to keep water from overtopping the structure after several days of rain once again brought water levels out of the banks of the Washita River near the construction site Nov. 30.
The dam was built for events such as this in order to keep the site free of excess water during high-water events.
The Cumberland Levee repair site is in Phase I of a repair project by the Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after record rainfall in May and June caused the Washita River to overtop and breach the levee on June 21, 2015.
Floodwaters inundated areas within the old Washita River Basin, an unpopulated area used primarily for oil and natural gas production. A $3.2 million contract for phase I repairs was awarded to Pontchartrain Partners, LLC., of Dallas, Aug. 12.
The Cumberland Levee is part of Lake Texoma and is located approximately 16 miles northwest of Durant, Oklahoma. The levee was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938 and was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1943 as part of the construction effort for Denison Dam to create Lake Texoma.
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