Purpose
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Levee Safety Program was created in 2006 to assess the integrity and viability of levees and to ensure that levee systems do not present unacceptable risks to the public and property.
Description
The basic objectives of the Levee Safety Program are to develop balanced and informed assessments of levees within the program; evaluate, prioritize, and justify levee safety decisions; and recommend improvements to public safety associated with levee systems. USACE created the National Levee Database, inventoried all levees in the program, and improved inspection procedures. USACE is developing a method to manage its portfolio of levee systems and is reviewing and revising current levee-related policies and procedures.
The Levee Safety Program is composed of more than 14,000 miles of levees and includes systems operated and maintained by USACE; federally authorized systems locally operated, maintained and covered under USACE Inspection of Completed Works program; and locally constructed, operated, and maintained systems in USACE Rehabilitation and Inspection Program in accordance with Public Law 84-99.
Status
USACE, in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, continues to communicate ongoing activities and the benefits, risks, and flood risk management measures identified for the levee systems in the portfolio. USACE has completed screening-level assessments to understand the risks associated with each levee system, which will be utilized to inform the communication effort with local sponsors. Formal inspections of all federal levee systems are conducted on a five-year frequency to determine the ongoing eligibility of the systems and evaluate operation and maintenance practices.
For levee systems with complex issues, project sponsors can maintain eligibility through the USACE System-Wide Improvement Framework (SWIF) process while implementing improvements to the levee systems. The project sponsors for the Burlington to Minot and Minot levee systems (eight systems total) have an approved SWIF and Section 408 plan that is revisited every two years and reapproved. The sponsor has been submitting progress reports on remediation activities that are monitored by USACE and are developing a strategy to exit the SWIF process.
Levee Systems in St. Paul District Portfolio
The locally operated and maintained federally authorized levee systems are as follows:
Red River of the North Basin — Enderlin, Fargo (Fourth Street South Levee), Argusville, Grand Forks, Pembina, Horace to West Fargo, West Fargo to Riverside, Fargo-Ridgewood and Wahpeton
Souris River Basin — Velva, Sawyer (2 systems), Renville County Park, Burlington to Minot (6 systems) and Minot (2 systems)
Devils Lake Basin — Devils Lake and Tolna Coulee
The locally constructed, locally operated, and maintained (nonfederal) levee systems are as follows:
Red River of the North Basin — Mapleton, Casselton and Lisbon (completing Initial Eligibility Inspection of the system)