Sometimes levees are said to fail when water "overtops" the crest of the levee. The earthen levee was ineffective against this flood. Some water also overtopped a section of the Industrial Canal levee. The waters came within five feet of overtopping the East St. Louis levee. Those municipalities without a levee system witnessed severe flooding. Further east is a tall levee, constructed in the 1990s to ward off flood waters. Factors that cause levee failure include overtopping, erosion, structural failures, and levee saturation. A levee, completed in 1995, protects the city from further flooding. Pumping Station, and another breach along the 17th Street Canal levee. But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. A popular pedestrian walkway, the Malecon, runs along the top of the levee. Many people began evacuating the area, fearing a levee breach. However, disaster was already spreading from the series of levee breaches. The government responded by building the McNary Levee System to protect lower parts of town. Wink hatches a plan to drain the water away by destroying the levee.