Back in the fall of 2021, after several days of heavy rain, the Lehigh River reached very high levels. After the water receded a bit, rain caused the river to rise a second time.

During that second wave, a lot of dirt and rocks along the bottom of the levee in Weissport were washed away.

A member of the Army Corps of Engineers was in the borough and met with board President Arland Moyer, and will be setting up another meeting to look at the levee near the trestle.

“Up by the trestle at the one turn where all the trees were,” Moyer explained, “the high water just shoved it right against the levee and washed a lot of the dirt and rocks away.”

The levee itself is not damaged, but a lot of dirt along the bottom was washed away and needs to be fixed. The borough would be responsible to make the repairs. The Army Corps of Engineers will be inspecting the levee closer to see if it meets criteria to help the borough secure funding for the repairs. The borough would also look at other grants or other sources of funding, just in case.

In related news, borough secretary Jennifer Ketchledge advised council that the borough received a proposal from Weeds Inc., a company that provides industrial weed control, to “chemically control the undesirable vegetation” along the levee. The cost to spray the levee will be $1,744. The weed spraying is done twice a year and is mandatory to maintain proper flood protection.

According to their website, the “proposal includes one initial application, one retreat application and any additional applications required to keep your facility weed free from the end of springtime to Nov. 1.”