SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — Nearly seven years after the devastating 2019 floods, neighbors in Sand Springs and Tulsa are still waiting for better flood protection as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepares to update the community on levee improvements.
Chance Marris knows firsthand what flooding can do.
Seven feet of water swept through his property during the 2019 disaster, forcing friends and family to move his house while he was out of state recovering from a four-wheeler accident.
WATCH: Army Corps to meet with neighbors about 'high-risk' levee system improvements
"It's pretty crazy to think that there was that much water coming through here," Marris said, standing where his home once sat.
The rebuild took about a year.
"It's kind of the nature of the beast of living here," he said.
The Corps has classified the current levee system as "high-risk" following the 2019 and 1986 floods. They said there's a high likelihood the levee could fail during the next major flood event.
Local News
2019 Floods: Recovery ongoing, levee improvements looming
2 News has followed the plans to improve the system for years, listening to residents concerns since the early days following the floods.
"Every time a big rain comes, we're tired of having to leave and get scared whenever they say hey you know you've got to put sandbags up," one resident said.
Community seeks better warning systems
With the Arkansas River so close to his home, Marris said he wasn't sure what a new levee would do to protect his family if there was a next time.
But he said some more warning would be crucial.
"There wasn't enough notice that it was gonna happen. I think that there needs to be a better warning system on that, a heads up, that way what happened to a lot of people, doesn't happen," he said.
Thursday night's community meeting will provide details on construction planned for the Tulsa West Tulsa levee and next steps for the improvement project slated to begin in 2027.
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