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Brookside Levee Location
City, County, and State of the levee system. Determined by the levee alignment location not the leveed area.
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
System ID
Unique identifier code for the levee system using 10 or 12 numbers in length.
500005000002
Operation and Maintenance Organization
Entity responsible for day-to-day management of the levee.
City of Wilkes-Barre
Floodplain Management
Entities responsible for regulating activities that occur in areas prone to flooding.
FEMA Region 3
Last Assesment Date Last Risk Assessment or Formal Inspection.
7/2/2019
Levee Length
Combine length of all the levee system features including the embankments, floodwalls, closures where they exist for this system.
0.519 Miles Average Levee Height
The average height of the levee system. The levee profile viewer on the mapping window will show the actual levee height values for the length of the levee if available.
11 Feet Year Levee Constructed Year levee system was fully completed as a flood reduction project.
1976 Summary
General text description of the levee system with a summary of why the levee is there, and the benefits it provides.
The City of Wilkes-Barre owns and maintains the Brookside Levee System located along the left bank of Mill Creek in Wilkes-Barre. Constructed in 1976 by the City of Wilkes-Barre the levee aims at reducing historical flooding caused by Susquehanna River backwater conditions on Mill Creek. The levee system is about 10 feet high and extends about a half mile along Mill Creek and the North Cross Valley Expressway, a mixed residential, commercial and industrial area. There are approximately 238 people who live in the leveed area and 105 structures estimated at $30 million in value. Near the North Cross Valley Expressway overpass there is an intentional 64-foot gap in the levee that allows vehicles to pass through during low water conditions. This gap must be closed by the City using posts and panels in the event of high water. There is also a large pump station that removes rainwater that may collect behind the levee.
Performance & Condition
General text description of the historical and anticipated performance of the levee, the people and property benefitting from the levee and who may be at risk of flooding, and actions to address areas of concern.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted a risk assessment between May 2018 and March 2019 with input and cooperation with the owner/operator, City of Wilkes-Barre, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Overall, the assessment determined that the Brookside Levee System was found to be low risk. The primary concern for this levee is the potential that in high river conditions water could flow over the top of the levee (overtopping) eroding the backside and potentially causing a break in the levee. Although it is unlikely that the levee would fail before being overtopped, the risk assessment did call attention to some maintenance issues that should be prioritized (removal of trees, filling in animal burrows and conducting a detailed inspection of the eight pipes that go through the levee). In the unlikely event of a levee failure, water would quickly rush into the area in the vicinity of the breach and then slowly fill the leveed area. If this happened, some areas could see flood waters over 10 feet deep, which would damage structures and could be fatal for anyone left in the area. Additionally, during past flood events, loss of power to the pump station resulted in interior drainage collection of up to 24 inches of water in the leveed area.
Flooding Hazard
Historic Loading by Percentage of Height
Representative loading associated with historical flood information as a percentage of the levee height or overtopping.
Representative loading associated with historical flood information as a percentage of the levee height or overtopping.
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