Hazard Mitigation Plans for Leveed Areas

Levees are abundant and integral to economic development in many communities in the United States. There are over 2000 federal levee systems under the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) alone. Although the true extent of the... [ view full abstract ]

Levees are abundant and integral to economic development in many communities in the United States. There are over 2000 federal levee systems under the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) alone. Although the true extent of the national inventory is yet unknown, but it has been estimated that more than 50,000 miles of levees exist; although there are other rough estimates as high as 100,000 miles. In 2014, the United States Congress passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, and amended and expanded the National Levee Safety Program (NLSP) that was previously authorized in 2007. This legislation authorizes both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and USACE to provide financial and technical assistance to States and Tribes that volunteer to participate in this program. FEMA funds can be used to establish local levee safety programs and levee inventory, whereas USACE funds can be used for levee rehabilitation. To be eligible to receive these funds once they become available through congressional appropriations, the recipients should address their levee risk in their FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plans.
In the United States, State, Tribal, and local governments are required to develop a hazard mitigation plan as a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance, including funding for mitigation projects. The planning process promoted by FEMA is as important as the resulting plan because it creates a framework for governments to reduce the negative impacts from future disasters on lives, property, and the economy.
This presentation discusses some of the challenges associated with addressing flood risk in leveed areas and provides some recommendations on how levees should be included in the hazard mitigation plans for an effective risk management approach. Please note that views expressed here and in the subsequent discussions are those of the authors and do not necessarily present those of FEMA.