By By ANNA M. LEE Managing Editor
Based on a report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, which is currently working with the City of Brewton on a flood mitigation feasibility study, Congress approved the construction of a levee in the 1930s. That would have been less than a decade after the worst flood in Brewton's history, which occurred in 1929.
The Corps report, from a study done in the 1970s, states, "The Flood Control Act of 1936 authorized the construction of a ring levee around the town of Brewton as described in House Document 350, 71st Congress, 2nd Session. The report concluded that either a ring levee or relocation of the town was economically feasible. Plans and designs were completed in 1938.
What those conditions were or why "local interests" chose not to comply is unknown, but the opportunity to build a levee to protect Brewton from flooding is being investigated again.
The current phase of this process is a cost estimation of materials to determine the cost to benefit ratio of building a levee. The plan's cost effectiveness will decide whether the government is interested in contributing to the project.
According to the Corps of Engineers, eight major floods have occurred in Brewton and East Brewton between 1900 and 1998: July, 1916, April 1928, March 1929, April 1975, July 1975, March 1990, March 1998 and September 1998.
As a part of its collaboration with the City of Brewton, the Corps is planning a public meeting to hear from people in the area about flood concerns.