On This Page:
- The Levee Safety Initiative
- Important Levee Groups
- National Levee Database
- United States Levee Safety Coalition
- International Levee Handbook
The Levee Safety Initiative
ASDSO strongly supports the Levee Safety Initiative established in the US Army Corps of Engineers by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA) (click here for a PDF of the levee safety portions of the WRRDA Conference Report). This Initiative establishes many of ASDSO's priorities for a National Levee Safety Program. ASDSO has been working with partners to promote the work of the National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) and advocate for the creation of a National Levee Safety Program. In 2006 the voting membership of ASDSO approved a resolution supporting the creation of a National Levee Safety Program. In addition, at their March 2009 meeting, the ASDSO Board of Directors voted to support the recommendations contained in the NCLS January 2009 Draft Report to Congress. The voting membership reaffirmed ASDSO support for a National Levee Safety Program in 2012.
The USACE Levee Portfolio Report was recently released for public review. While the data is specific to USACE portfolio, information presented in the report is applicable to anyone designing, constructing, operating or managing levees. The Report highlights facts gathered from risk assessments of approximately 2,200 levee systems totaling 14,150 miles in length. As a Nation, we know little about the condition or risks associated with levees outside the USACE portfolio. As such we do not have a true national look at the risks and benefits levees provide to the Nation. USACE is currently coordinating with states, tribes, local, regional and private levee owner-operators to conduct a one-time inspection and risk assessment for all levees in the United States.
Important Levee Groups
The United States Levee Safety Coalition
The United States Levee Safety Coalition is a group of professional organizations that have joined together to support and advance levee safety in the United States of America. This coalition is committed to the common cause of preserving and protecting public safety, life and property, through the responsible engineering design, construction, operation, maintenance, management and removal of parts or portions of the existing and future vast levee infrastructure system in the United States. (Learn More Below)
National Committee on Levee Safety
The NCLS is a committee of federal, state, local, and private sector members with the direction from Congress to prepare recommendations and a strategic implementation plan on a National Levee Safety Program.
National Levee Database
The National Levee Database (NLD), developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is the focal point for comprehensive information about our nation's levees. Authorized by Congress in 2007, the database contains information to facilitate and link activities, such as flood risk communication, levee system evaluation for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), levee system inspections, flood plain management, and risk assessments. The NLD continues to be a dynamic database with ongoing efforts to add levee data from federal agencies, states, and tribes. Note - The NLD currently contains the majority of levees within the USACE program, however, it does not contain all levees located in the United States.
United States Levee Safety Coalition
The United States Levee Safety Coalition (Coalition) is a group of professional organizations that have joined together to support and advance levee safety in the United States of America. This coalition is committed to the common cause of preserving and protecting public safety, life and property, through the responsible engineering design, construction, operation, maintenance, management and removal of parts or portions of the existing and future vast levee infrastructure system in the United States.
The mission of the Coalition is the advancement of levee safety across the country through:
- Good engineering practices,
- Sound public policy; and,
- Increased awareness and education within communities of practice and the public.
The members of the Coalition are the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO), the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA), the United States Society on Dams (USSD), and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).
Coalition Activities
Legislative Advocacy - Many of the activities of the Coalition involve advocacy for the National Levee Safety Initiative. This has included meetings with and letters to Congressional Appropriations staff and Office of Management and Budget representatives.
2018-2019 Webinar Series - The US Levee Safety Coalition in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) presented two webinars on levee safety in the United States, “US Army Corps of Engineers, Levee Portfolio Report” and "USACE 2018 Supplemental Funding." Click for more information and to view the archived webinars.
EUCOLD Working Group on Levees Report, U.S Chapters - The US Levee Safety Coalition assisted in the preparation of a chapter on levees in the United States for a report by the European Club of the International Commission on Large Dams (EUCOLD) Working Group on Levees. The report is titled “European and US Levees and Flood Defences, Inventory of characteristics, risks and governance.” The report consists of chapters prepared by individual countries. Each chapter follows the same format and address the nine topics outlined below.
1.1 Facts and figures on levees and flood defenses
1.2 Protected value, safety standards and flood risk
1.3 Recent major floods and (near-)failures of levees
1.4 Legislation and governance
1.5 Guidelines and good practices
1.6 Common practices during Levee Life Cycle
1.7 Critical knowledge and data gaps; critical research needs
1.8 Summary of key facts
1.9 References (per country)
International Levee Handbook
The International Levee Handbook (ILH) is a compendium of good practice, offering comprehensive guidance on the design, construction, maintenance and improvement of levees and describing the international state of the art on these matters. Also, it offers a decision support framework for competent engineers, rather than a prescriptive decision making code of practice, looking at specific challenges during the life cycle of levees. Members of the U.S. Levee Safety Coalition—ASDSO, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the US Society on Dams (USSD), the National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies, the Deep Foundations Institute, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the US Army Corps of Engineers—fully support and endorse the ILH. Click here to view the ILH.
