Come September, it will be eight years since the Town of Princeville and parts of Tarboro were under water as a result of the flood that came with Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

As the 28 feet of water receded, Princeville began and has continued to rebuild itself. It has gained a new Town Hall, a new Senior Citizens Center and is restoring and turning the old town hall into a museum. After all this work, residents and officials in Princeville want security that their beloved town will not be destroyed by rising waters again.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a plan to ensure massive flooding doesn't happen again.

In 2001, the Corps of Engineers' Wilmington District began a feasibility study for flood damage reduction in Princeville. The purpose of the study being to develop and evaluate ways to provide the town with protection against another 100-year flood event.

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on several options that would prevent flooding not only in Princeville, but also in Tarboro and Edgecombe County," said Princeville Town Manager Sam Knight.

"They are trying to prevent a flood of this magnitude from happening again. We want to keep the water in the Tar River."

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Web site, "Flood events are defined by the probability that a certain amount of water is possible any one year. For example, the infamous '100-year flood' is in fact the level of water with a 1 percent chance (1 in 100) occurring any one year."

Knight said the Corps of Engineers are researching methods to prevent flooding that are both economical and safe.

"There are three things in play with this project," said Knight. "To make sure there is no erosion or flooding in areas outside of Princeville, to decide what is cost effective, and to decide how well they can get people to participate since they might have to encroach on other people's land."

The Corps of Engineers have come up with several ways that could possibly prevent a damaging flood. These ideas include adding new sections to Princeville's existing dike. The dike, constructed in 1965 and rebuilt in 2000, is 15,600-feet long and located along U.S. 64 and U.S. 258. Other possible choices for prevention include raising highways, building a concrete and/or metal sheet piling flood control wall, raising certain homes on stilts and adding earthen dikes.

Knight said the Corps of Engineers are still studying the plans and no decision has been made yet.

"There is no set timetable because they are trying to find the very thing that will be beneficial to all of us," said Knight.

He said he looks towards a meeting sometime in the future when the Corps of Engineers will present their findings and decision to both Princeville, Tarboro and Edgecombe County officials.

Visual images of the potential designs to prevent flooding are located in the Princeville Town Hall.

It is unclear if the efforts to help the Town of Princeville will inadvertently harm the Town of Tarboro. Officials are unsure if changing the water flow on one side of the dike will affect the way water runs into Tarboro.