A rock river wall on Elkader's North Main Street will be repaired with FEMA funds.
Earlier this year, the Elkader City Council approved rebuilding the wall, which was destroyed in last year's flooding, with local funds at a cost of $118,000. FEMA originally declined to fund the project, stating that it was a floodwall and that it was not properly maintained. City Council members then approved paying for reconstruction of the wall, which is behind several downtown businesses on the riverbank.
FEMA later notified the council that funding might be available if the reconstruction is historically accurate. This week, the council received an official FEMA offer to pay for the project with an additional $140,000 added for a rock face on the wall, which will mirror the original structure.
The wall was built in the early 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, an organization created as part of the work relief program instituted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
