Cumberland Flood Control System
In the 1950s, the city of Cumberland and the United States Army Corps of Engineers embarked upon an $18.5 million flood-control program along a stretch of Wills Creek bordering the city. The project was one of the most costly public works projects in the city's history. Disastrous floods from Wills Creek had ravaged Cumberland, particularly in 1924, 1936, and 1942, and the Army Corp of Engineers designed a system that would prevent property damage caused by the high waters. It began just upstream from the bridge at Route 40, where the corps paved the bottom of Wills Creek, constructing concrete walls along its banks, and with the building of a sophisticated pumping system to prevent the watershed from flooding during heavy rain. The work took a decade to complete and was finished in 1959. It has successfully prevented flooding ever since.
Read more about this topic: Wills Creek (North Branch Potomac River)
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