OTTAWA — Like other river cities, Ottawa is fighting a federal rule that requires the city to get a formal certification on its levee system. City planning and codes director Wynndee Lee said the city’s levees have a temporary certification but getting a formal certification will be expensive. But city attorney Bob Bezek said that the city may have little choice. Under the regulations, if the levees aren’t certified, flood maps would have to be adjusted to show that no levees exist, which would make most of the downtown area a flood-prone area, he said. Development and building is limited in flood-prone areas. Lee said she plans to hold a hearing on the new levee rule in the next few weeks.
