(Radio Iowa) — Contractors have closed 14 breaches on federal levees in southwest Iowa, breaches that were created by last year’s widespread flooding. They have one more to fix on a levee from Thurman to the Missouri border, before the spring flooding season starts. That 15th breach is expected to be closed by March 1st, according to Trish Lambert, with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers Systems Restoration Team out of Omaha. “The level of repairs are basically at an interim level,” Lambert says, “however, we’re confident that we’ve done our best to get them to a point where they can withstand high water events.”

Lambert says contractors are bringing the areas where breaches were closed up to the heights from before flooding hit last year. Contractors have armored the closed breach areas with clay on top, but she says they’re missing a top layer of grass that would protect and stabilize the levees. “Clay has the potential, if the water does sit against it,” she says. “It’s not as resilient as if it were to have that established grass.”

Without that grass protection, the clay could wash away if there’s rain, snow or high water. Lambert says contractors will work to add grass, seeding and do other final fixes after March 1st.

(Reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)