The Seven Levees:
1. The Argentine Unit is located in Wyandotte County, Kansas, on the right bank of the Kansas River between approximate Kansas River miles 10.1 and 4.75. The unit begins at the Santa Fe Railroad embankment upstream from the Turner Bridge, and extends downstream to immediately upstream of the 12th Street bridge. Modification and strengthening of works originally constructed by the Kaw Valley Drainage District began in May 1951 and were completed in November 1955. Additional improvements, authorized in 1962, were completed in April 1978. The unit comprises a system of levees, floodwalls, 2 stoplog gaps, one sandbag gap, 5 pumping plants, and 17 drainage structures. The levees total approximately 5.5 miles and the floodwalls, in two sections, total 1,338 feet. Most of the floodwall is 16 feet tall while a short section ranges from 14.5 to 22 feet tall.
2. The Armourdale Unit is located along the left bank of the Kansas River from mile 6.7 (Matoon Creek) to mile 0.3, near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. The original levees and floodwalls were constructed under the jurisdiction of the Kaw Valley Drainage District. Construction of the Federal project began in May 1949 and was completed in February 1951. Additional improvements, separately authorized in 1962, were completed in April 1976. The unit consists of a system of levees, flood walls, riprap and toe protection on riverward slopes of levees, toe drains along the concrete flood walls, two sandbag gaps and four stoplog gaps, drainage structures, 45 relief wells and eight pumping plants. The levees in three sections total about 5.5 miles and the floodwalls range from 13 to 27 feet tall and are approximately 6,600 feet long.
3. The Birmingham Unit is located on the left bank of the Missouri River, approximately 12.4 miles downstream from the mouth of the Kansas River. The unit was constructed under the jurisdiction of the Birmingham Drainage District. The Federal project in 1952 raised and strengthened the upstream section of the levee. The downstream section was strengthened and modified in 1954 and 1955. The levee begins at the bluff southeast of Randolph, Missouri, and extends southwest along an abandoned railroad fill, then south to the Missouri River and downstream until it turns north and west along the left bank of the old Liberty Bend channel to the Wabash Railroad. From that point it passes upstream along the right bank of Shoal Creek to high ground at the Liberty road. The unit includes a levee, 473 feet of floodwalls, 2 pumping plants, riprap slope protection on a section of riverward slope, three drainage structures, two sandbag gaps and one stoplog gap, underseepage control and stability berms.
4. The Central Industrial District (CID) (Kansas segment) unit is located in Wyandotte County, Kansas, and extends along the right bank of the Kansas River from mile 3.4 to the mouth, then downstream along the right bank of the Missouri River to the Missouri and Kansas State Line. Improvements to the original system constructed by the Kaw Valley Drainage District began construction in May 1948 and were completed by November 1955. The most recent improvements were completed in December 1979. The unit consists of a system of levees and floodwalls, 2 stoplog gaps, 2 sandbag gaps, 10 pumping plants, 22 drainage structures, 10 relief wells, riprap and levee toe protection and a surfaced levee crown and ramps. The levee is approximately 1.8 miles long. Three sections of floodwall total about 7,900 feet.
The Central Industrial District (CID) (Missouri segment) unit is located in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri. The initial construction began in March 1946 and was completed in September 1947. Significant improvements and repair of 1951 Flood damage followed the initial construction and were completed in November 1955. The unit extends along the right bank of the Missouri River, upstream from the Grand Avenue Viaduct (river mile 365.7) to the Kansas-Missouri State Line (river mile 367.2). The unit consists of a system of levees, floodwalls and five drainage structures, a levee drainage system including two pumping plants, one sandbag and seven stoplog gaps, toe and bank protection, and slope protection on the riverward slope. The floodwall is 1.45 miles long and the levee is about 430 feet long.
5. The East Bottoms Unit is located in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri. The initial construction was completed in September 1950, and the City of Kansas City formally accepted the project on July 30, 1951. The most recent work on the East Bottoms Unit was completed in August 1974. The unit extends downstream along the right bank of the Missouri River from the A.S.B. Bridge, river mile 365.6 (adjusted 1960) to the mouth of the Big Blue River, river mile 357.7 (adjusted 1960), then upstream along the left bank of the Big Blue River to the Missouri Pacific Railroad embankment. The levee portion is 8.9 miles long. The floodwall portion is 1,742 feet long and either 12 or 14 feet tall. The unit includes 14 drainage structures, 3 stoplog gaps, 8 pumping plants and 31 relief wells.
6. The Fairfax-Jersey Creek Unit is located on the left bank of the Kansas River from the Missouri Pacific Railroad Bridge (Kansas River mile 0.3) downstream to the mouth of the Kansas River, and along the right bank of the Missouri River from Missouri River mile 367.5 to mile 373.9 (1960 adjusted mileage). The initial construction began in April 1940 and was completed in May 1941. Numerous modifications and improvements were constructed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the most recent having been completed in June 1955. The Fairfax Drainage District is responsible for operation maintenance of the Fairfax (major) portion of this overall unit. The Kaw Valley Drainage District operates and maintains the lower Jersey Creek area. The unit consist of about 4.9 miles of levees, 4,039 feet of floodwall, 4 stoplog gaps, riprap and levee toe protection, 43 drainage structures, 113 relief wells, 16 pumping plants and the Jersey Creek sewer pump station and shutter gate. The average height of the floodwall is 8.5 feet.
7. The North Kansas City Unit is operated and managed as two separate and distinct sections: the “Airport section” and the “lower section”. Federal construction began in 1946. Several Federal improvements have been made since the initial construction. The most recent Federal work was completed post-1993 flood.
The North Kansas City Unit (Airport Section) is located around the perimeter of the downtown airport. The Airport section is owned and maintained by Kansas City, Missouri. The alignment passes along the left bank of the Missouri River starting from river mile 369.6 to the downstream floodwall at river mile 366.2. The unit is comprised of 2.5 miles of levee, 530 feet of floodwalls, and appurtenances including drainage structures, pumping plants, and pressure relief wells. The floodwalls range from 7 to 15 feet tall.