In March 2019, abnormal weather patterns in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota caused record-setting flooding along the Missouri River, resulting in widespread catastrophic damage throughout the river valley. Shimmick was part of a multi-agency team that completed a highly complex $100 million levee setback after floodwaters destroyed most of the left bank of Missouri River Levee Unit 536 (L-536) in northwestern Missouri.
The Large-Scale Levee Setback Playbook documents how the project came together and was successfully completed and serves as a guide for others to use in pursuing similar nature-based solutions that enhance flood resiliency.
The development of the Playbook was supported by The Nature Conservancy with experience based contributions from project partners involved in the L-536 setback project, a nature-based solution to reduce flood risk to the community by reconnecting more than 1000 acres to the riverward floodplain and restoring more than 400 acres of wetlands.