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At its final scheduled meeting of 2023, the Kankakee River Basin and Yellow River Basin Development Commission received a report highlighting the year’s flood mitigation projects.
First on the list of completed projects was Phase II of the Yellow River Bank Reconstruction, which reshaped three miles of severely eroding river banks in Starke County. Workers completed the long-term sediment reduction initiative ahead of schedule while saving over $300,000 within the project’s budget.
Throughout 2023, the Commission also added over 200 acres of contained floodwater storage upstream of IN-49 in Jasper County through construction of a spillway; removed and prevented logjams along various Kankakee River sections from County Road 1500 South in La Porte County to the Illinois state line; cleared Yellow River logjams between State Road 17 in Marshall County and Range Road in Starke County; removed heavy debris and obstructions at major Kankakee River bridges and various railroad crossings; reseeded over eleven miles of Kankakee River banks with locally native grasses; maintained a Kankakee River sediment trap downstream of the Robbins Ditch confluence; completed designs and permits for Phase III of the Yellow River reconstruction and started regulatory permitting for Jasper County bank repair; and commenced a hydraulic study of flood mitigation impacts at the Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area.
In partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local officials, officials developed the template for a formal, multi-county flood response plan.
