Carbondale Reporter

State Senator Terri Bryant is urging the state to take immediate action to address a critical scour hole in the Stringtown Levee located in rural Monroe County. The condition of the levee has raised concerns among local, state, and federal officials about the risk of failure, which could have severe consequences for the region.

Earlier this week, Senator Bryant and State Representative David Friess sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker requesting that he direct the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) to quickly deploy resources, work with federal partners, and secure funding needed to stabilize the levee.

“A breach of this levee would threaten lives, homes, farms, and the economic stability of communities in Monroe, Randolph, and surrounding counties,” said Senator Bryant. “We have seen the devastation that levee failures can cause, and we must act now to prevent it from happening here.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has described the erosion site as “unsustainable” and “approaching failure,” noting that the erosion zone is larger than a football field with water dangerously close to the base of the levee. If a breach occurs, more than 45,000 acres and hundreds of homes could be flooded, potentially resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. According to Senator Bryant, repairing the scour hole at this stage would cost significantly less than addressing a full levee breach.

Senator Bryant was elected as a Republican to represent Illinois’ 58th Senate District in 2021 after replacing Paul Schimpf.

The joint letter sent by Senator Bryant and Representative Friess can be viewed here.