Alton Scraps Flood Wall Plans, Weighs Other Mitigation Options

Alton City Hall Flood Mitigation Meeting (Feb. 4, 2026)

ALTON – Plans for a permanent flood wall in downtown Alton are no longer moving forward as city officials consider other possible flood mitigation projects.

At a meeting on flood mitigation options held at Alton City Hall on Feb. 4, 2026, Scott Weiner with Sheppard, Morgan & Schwaab (SMS) Inc. presented three potential projects aimed at preventing flooding in downtown Alton:

1. A permanent concrete flood wall topped by removable aluminum planks which could be temporarily installed as needed during flooding

2. The construction of storm sewer piping and valves to isolate the downtown sewers from the Piasa Tunnel and West Broadway storm sewer systems, as well as the construction of a stormwater pump station to prevent backups during high-water events

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   Improvements to Chessen Lane, including culvert replacement, ditching improvements, and various other drainage improvements.

Planning & Development Director Greg Caffey said the city faces multiple options. Under the first, the city would pursue a “full buildout” to complete all three projects; however, Caffey said the city does not have enough funding to cover the full cost of this option and will not be pursuing it, since the flood wall alone was estimated to cost nearly $7 million. This largely eliminated public concerns about a permanent flood wall affecting the look, feel, and property values of downtown Alton, since the city no longer plans to build one.

Caffey said under the second option, the city would not build the permanent flood wall but would still pursue the subsurface sewer improvements, pump station construction, and Chessen Lane improvements. Under the third option, the city would choose not to pursue any of these three projects and would instead seek a federal grant to reimburse the city for the cost of the planning work done so far, which Weiner estimated has totaled $200,000.

Weiner said the cost of the Chessen Lane improvements would total about $1.31 million, while the subsurface sewer improvements and pump station construction would total approximately $2.8 million. Caffey said these projects would mostly be funded by $2.4 million in federal grant funds, with the remaining amount to be covered by the city’s Riverfront TIF District fund.

Caffey added that under the guidelines of the federal grant, any planned improvements would have to be made by September of 2026, though that deadline could be extended as far as April of 2027, after which the grant’s Congressional approval would expire.

No official action was taken at the meeting, which was solely intended to provide updated information, gather public feedback, and answer questions. Any potential project bids or designs would come before the Alton City Council for future consideration and approval.

More details and discussion on these flood mitigation options are available in the full meeting video at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.

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