Wichita and Sedgwick County are making another try at federal grant funding for a proposed flood control project.

The Wichita City Council and the Sedgwick County Commission have approved letters of intent to apply for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its BRIC (Building Resilience in Communities) program.   The city and county applied for the grant last fall but did not get approval for funding.   They are making a new application under the Fiscal Year 2022 round of grants, which will have a total of almost $2.3 billion available for projects across the U.S.

The project in Wichita and Sedgwick County will construct two dry detention dams in the Calfskin Creek Watershed area.  That’s an area between 13th Street North and Pawnee, between 183rd Street West and the Calfskin Creek.   Don Henry with Wichita’s Public Works department said the project will remove 458 acres from the 100-year flood plain and allow for potential development on land that could not be developed before.   The project will remove 149structures from the flood plain, and the threat of extreme street flooding would be eliminated for 212 homes and seven streets that now become impassable during 100-year flood events.

The project is expected to cost around $40 million.   Sedgwick County’s deputy director of public works, Lynn Packer, said the cost will be re-evaluated but it’s not expected to see any major changes.

The letter of intent has to be submitted this month, and the city and county will begin the grant application process.   A decision is expected by next summer on the projects that will be approved for funding.