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River's Park Edge and its partners are pleased to offer all visitors a fun, educational challenge to locate ecological clues thoughout the park.
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Levee
Levees are physical barriers, usually built parallel to waterways, designed to reduce damage from floods. When you are at River’s Edge Park, you are standing on a levee. This levee was designed and constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers starting in 1946, and is 29 miles long.
Without this levee, about 64% of the residents in Council Bluffs would be at risk for flooding.
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Types of levees include:
- Natural – usually composed of dirt, silt and sediment
- Artificial – usually composed of wood, metal, plastic or even soil and rocks
- Permanent – usually composed of stone, brick or cement
- Temporary – usually sandbags or other quick remedies
Levees do not guarantee protection from floods, but they do greatly reduce the risk. This area has experienced seven major floods since the levee was constructed, most recently in 2019. To learn more about the levee, visit the Council Bluffs Levee Program website.