MUSCATINE, Iowa -- Sept. 29, 2008 -- Muscatine Mayor Richard O'Brien 
and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island 
District, Col. Robert Sinkler, signed the Mad Creek flood risk 
management Project Partnering Agreement today which officially kicks 
off the construction of the project.

The nearly $9 million project will provide flood protection for the 
area from Geneva Creek to the confluence of Mad Creek with the 
Mississippi River.  This low-lying area is subject to flash flooding 
and incorporates a mix of commercial, industrial and residential 
properties and a recently designated historical district in downtown 
Muscatine.

Major components of the Mad Creek project include raising 
approximately 2,300 feet of existing levees and 1,700 feet of 
existing floodwalls along Mad Creek and the Mississippi River just 
downstream of Mad Creek by about 2 feet, the construction of 230 
feet of new floodwall, construction of a new bulkhead closure gate 
to replace the existing panel closure at Mississippi Drive, 
replacing the existing floodgate at Second Street with a roller 
closure gate, and improving the channel of Mad Creek just upstream 
of 2nd Street.  The project also includes installation of an 
improved flood-warning system.

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