Levee Construction
Following the flood, local authorities created the Pueblo Conservancy District to protect the city from flooding by constructing a levee. At a time when activist government was frowned upon, the city and county got only minimal help from the State and federal Governments. The Conservancy District raised money for the levee construction through the Maintenance Assessment Fund, which it declared was not a tax. As a result, a lawsuit was initiated over the legitimacy of the fund and the power of the Pueblo Conservancy District. The case found its way to the Colorado Supreme Court, where it was affirmed that the fund was not a tax and in fact constitutional. Throughout 1923, the Conservancy District created the "Official Plan" for the levee construction. This plan was approved on December 11th, 1923 after the committee found that it was able to allocate $9,496,910 for the lands that needed to be claimed by the city. The project was completed in just two years and by 1925 the levee was fully functioning and remained unchanged until it was updated to meet FEMA guidelines in the 2010s.