The 1964 flood

The Ohio River floodwall had been completed just over eight years when it faced its first test. In March, 1964, the river rose to its highest level since 1945, and its fourth-highest level in history.

The test was not a success. The City of Louisville’s Public Works department, charged with maintaining and operating the floodwall system, failed to install several downtown street closures in time. After two days of rising waters, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took control from the city. National Guard troops and city firemen helped with the work. Truckloads of fill material were dumped into the 10th Street opening to stop the river’s invasion; thousands of sandbags helped at several other closures.

MSD executive John L. Person, who had overseen part of the floodwall’s construction, called the affair "a fiasco," an assessment that did not endear him to the city administration.

Later, in its review of the problems, the Corps of Engineers cited the need for better training, better organization, and quicker response when a flood threatened. It also cited the need for regulations to prevent buildings from being constructed in flood-prone areas.

MSD History continued