ASA caps Tulsa District visit with Tulsa and West-Tulsa Levee System design amendment agreement

Photo By Sara Goodeyon | Todd Kilpatrick (foreground), commissioner, Tulsa County Drainage Levee District No. 12, the Hon. Michael Connor (center), Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Col. Tim Hudson (last at table), commander, Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sign the design amendment agreement for the Tulsa and West-Tulsa Levee System Project at the levee flood wall in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oct. 18. The design amendment agreement allows the project to access resources made available through the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 for the project’s engineering and design phase.  

TULSA, OK, UNITED STATES

10.19.2023

Story by Brannen Parrish 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District

The Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works capped off a two-day visit to the Tulsa District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the signing of a design amendment agreement at the Tulsa and West-Tulsa Levee System floodwall in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oct. 18.
After meeting with stakeholders and touring Tulsa District infrastructure projects, the Hon. Michael Connor witnessed the signing of the agreement between the Tulsa District and the Tulsa County Drainage Levee District 12.
Prior to the signing, Connor toured the levee with Col. Tim Hudson, commander, Tulsa District, USACE and Todd Kilpatrick, commissioner, Tulsa County Drainage Levee District No. 12.
“I get a sense of the urgency that our team has had as to the need to move forward with this project, learn the lessons of the 2019 flood, saw the risks based upon what was obviously evident in 2019, and the whole range of protection that’s needed for communities that otherwise can’t protect themselves, said Connor. “We’ve got resources, we’ve got partnership and we’ve got opportunity here, and it’s a pleasure to sign this agreement.”
The design amendment agreement allows the project to access resources made available through the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 for the project’s engineering and design phase.
“This is the result of teamwork and partnership. It’s an important project; we just drove by the communities that will be protected by this effort as well as the industry,” Hudson said. “It took a lot of work to get to this point. There’s a lot of work left, and I just want to thank you all for being here and for your efforts.”
The Water Resources and Development Act of 2020 authorized $137,402,000 to restore levels of protection and manage flood risks by making repairs to the Tulsa and West-Tulsa Levee.
“We’re going to move the needle on this. People deserve the best possible protection we can give them and that we can afford but this is a great next step for us to get a healthy levee,” said Kilpatrick.
The Tulsa and West Tulsa Levee was authorized by Public Law 77-228 “the Flood Control Act of 1941” and completed in 1944. The levee has reduced flood risk for Tulsa County residents for nearly 80 years.

• Date Taken: 10.19.2023
• Date Posted: 10.19.2023 16:02
• Story ID: 456156
• Location: TULSA, OK, US