Officials in Holt County are hoping a recently built secondary levee will protect Big Lake but are urging evacuations.

A levee breached today southwest of Craig, just downstream from where the levee breached last year along the Union township levee.

In a news release Monday morning, Holt County authorities said the breach was 75 yards wide.

Farmers have built a high bank levee in the area where the water is spilling into now, Holt County Commissioner Mark Sitherwood said.

“It is a new levee,” Sitherwood said.  “We certainly hope it holds.”

The levee is likely to fail at some point, County Clerk Kathy Kunkel.

“It does not have grass on it at this time.  So it’s a consensus between emergency management officials that it’s likely that as we go into this long period of time with a high river that eventually that levee will fail,” Kunkel said.

County officials are urging residents in the Big Lake area to take action now and evacuate.