GRAND TOWER, IL (WSIL) -- Local leaders in the village of Grand Tower say they are living with a ticking time-bomb as they sound the alarm on years of neglect from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Those leaders say the Corps has left them in a dangerous situation.
Grand Tower Levee District Commissioner Shawn McMahan tells News 3 his community needs help now, before disrepairs lead to loss of life.
"There's seep water already pouring through because the river has risen over 20 feet in the last four-five days," says McMahan on Front Street drainage system. "We have got to fix this, or this system is going to fail and basically wash out Grand Tower and cost us lives that we could avoid by fixing it."
Ten years of historic flood levels is wearing away the ground, beneath the town, says McMahan, adding that "It's 100% caused by the Mississippi River."
Sinkholes on Front Street are more than two years old, he says under Public Law 84-99, it is the Army Corps of Engineers' responsibility to address those repairs.
"The Corps of Engineers should have stepped in here, two years ago, right after the flood event, hit the ground, got this project rolling and took control of it," says McMahan. "They've yet to do anything here."
McMahan says repeated attempts to reach the Corps of Engineers have gone unanswered. He has contacted both state and federal lawmakers to assist and says, "They've been helpful in contacts, texts, e-mails, everything, we just can't get nowhere."
Grand Tower is not alone in trying to reach the Corps, McMahan says, levee districts up-and-down the river are running into walls as well.
"I'm running out of resources," explains McMahan. "It's time to reach beyond them, get a hold of the Governor, hey, let's contact the president, it's infrastructure, let's get it back going the right way."
The Levee District fears without repairs the next flood event could cost lives.
"You gotta get up and help us," McMahan ask of the Corps, adding with a shrug, "They just sit up there and don't do anything."
News 3 reached out Thursday afternoon to the Army Corps of Engineers; this story will be updated to reflect their response to the Levee District's claims when it becomes available.
