USACE Levee Safety Program
Presented by Tammy Conforti
ASFPM Conference May 2008
Topics of Discussion
USACE National Levee Safety
Program Organization
National Levee Database
Inspections
Recent Guidance
National Levee Safety Act 2007
Websites
USACE Activities 2
Levee Safety Program
Mission
Assess the integrity and
viability of levees and
recommend actions to
assure that levee systems
do not present
unacceptable risks to the
public, property, and the
environment.
West Columbus, Ohio
Program
Objectives:
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Hold Public Safety Paramount
Reduced Economic Impacts
Maximize Cost Effectiveness
Develop Reliable and Accurate Information
USACE Activities 3
Build Public Trust and Acceptance
Implementation Guidance
• Issued to field in November
• Establish Levee Safety Officers
• Establish Levee Safety Program Managers
• Submit plans for organizational structure
• Use revised inspection checklist
• Describes the different tiers of inspections
• Provides guidance for inspection intervals
• Announces training for the inspection tool
• Informs of future NFRMP guidance
USACE Activities 4
Levee Safety Program
Organization
Flood Risk Management Program
Champion – Mr. Ed Hecker
Program Director – Pete Rabbon
HQUSACE Levee Safety Management Team
Levee Safety Officer – Steve Stockton
Special Assistant – Eric Halpin
Program Manager – Tammy Conforti
Levee Safety Committee
National Teams
Regional Teams
Assessment
Methodology
Inventory & Database
Team Lead:
Tim Pangburn
Team Lead
Andy Harkness
ICW Inspection Team
Policy & Procedures Team
Team Lead
Dale Munger
Team Lead
Michael Bart
Levee Inspector Tool
Certification ETL
Team Lead
Kevin Carlock
Team Lead
Mike Deering
MSC Levee Teams
District Levee Teams
USACE Activities 5
FEMA NFIP
Objective: Communicate the most current
information for flood insurance purposes.
Universe of Levees
NFIP & CORPS
NFIP only
Level of Protection
100-year
Federal
O&M
USACE
Local
built /represents
built / all
Area
Local
Enrolled
O&M
in RIP
No Prior
Nexus with
USACE or FEMA
CORPS only
1
2
Local & the
Other
levees throughout
US.
New Nexus from
WRDA 2007
3
4
USACE Dec07
Not to scale
USACE Inventory and Assessment
Objective: Assess all levees in USACE
programs, regardless of level of
protection.
Levee Categories
WRDA Authorities
Objective: Inventory all levees in nation, lead strategic
plan for a National Levee Safety Program
Location of Corps Levees
USACE Activities 7
National Levee Database
(NLD) and Inventory
 One Geospatial Database Model
 Collect Relevant Levee/Floodwall Attributes
• Design and construction
• Operations and maintenance
• Repair and inspections
• Potential for failure
 Maintained by Districts; Accessible by Others
 FEMA Mid-Term Levee Inventory Data Collected
Using USACE Database Model & Structure
USACE Activities 8
Database Viewers
Database Viewers
What will database and national web
viewers look like?
Main viewer will be CorpsMap
Other viewers could include Google
Earth
Key data to be collected
floodwall_line
levee_flood_fight_point
closure_structure_line
levee_failure_point
levee_crossing_point
pump_station_point
borehole_point
levee_centerline
sand_boil_point
rehabilitation line
piezometer_point
cross_section_line
protected_area
levee_station_point
levee_relief_well_piont
encroachment point
gravity_drain_line
USACE Activities 10
Risk Informed Inspections
and Assessments
Continuous Routine Inspections by Sponsor
- More Rigorous Standards & Checklist
Pre-Screening Based on Inventory Results
- Prioritization of Periodic Assessments
And Risk Assessments
Annual Robust Inspections by District
- Professionally Managed
Periodic Assessments
- Periodic Inspection + Screening Risk Assessment
(every 5 years)
Risk Assessments - Rigorous, data intensive
effort (every 10 years)
USACE Activities 11
Levee Inspection Program
 Routine Inspection: Verifies proper operation &
maintenance activities conducted by the public sponsor.
 Periodic Inspection: Verifies proper operation and
maintenance and evaluates structure’s operational
adequacy, structural stability and identifies components and
features that the sponsor needs to monitor over time.
 Periodic Assessment: Combination of PI and potential
failure mode and consequences analysis used for initial
screening and prioritization of RA.
 Risk Assessment: Process of identifying the likelihood and
consequences of levee failure to provide the basis for
informed decisions on a course of action.
USACE Activities 12
Levee Inspection Program
Current Land Use in the
Protected Area
Project Design
Event
Urban/Rural Agricultural
100 year event or
greater
Urban/Rural
50 to 99 year event
Interval of Inspection
Type of Inspection
Annual
Routine
5 yr
Periodic Inspection &
Assessment
TBD
Risk Assessment
Annual
Routine
5 yr
Periodic Inspection &
Assessment
TBD
Risk Assessment
Urban/Rural
10 to 49 year event
2 year
Routine
Agricultural
5 to 99 year event
2 year
Routine
USACE Activities 13
Levee System Inspection
Automated Field Components
• USACE Levee System
Inspection Application
• ArcGIS Software
• Crystal Reports
(Included with
ArcGIS)
• Laptop Computer
or Tablet PC
• GPS Receiver
USACE Activities 14
Risk Assessments Outcomes
 Levee Safety Action Classification
 Consequences
• Relative Annualized Loss of Life
• Relative Economic Damage
• Others, environmental, etc
 Component Risk – What is driving risk
 Information on data quality and gaps
 Issues that influence certification
 Documentation of confirmed failure modes
 Recommended risk management actions
USACE Activities 15
Levee Certification ETL (EC)
 Implementation concurrent with field
review
 Comment period complete
 Formal ITR and peer review
 Highlights –
• Systems based, no “partial” certifications
• 10-year validity period
• Addresses residual risk
• Requires LCR
• Will be updated to reflect advances with riskbased approaches
USACE Activities 16
Vegetation Standards
 Vegetation policy development includes four
steps  Review standards and vegetation management
policy using current engineering and science.
 Conduct an external peer review of standards.
 Identify related regulations and policies that
require modifications to implement the new
vegetation management policy. Create an
implementation plan.
 Conduct national roundtable to discuss
updated policy, standards, and implementation
plan.
USACE Activities 17
FY 2008 Inspection
Priorities
 Priority 1 – Complete I-Wall Evaluations
 Priority 2 – Routine Inspections
 Priority 3 – Automated Inspection Tool Training
 Priority 4 – Vertical Datum Evaluations
 Priority 5 – Coordination with FEMA on PALs
 Other Activities – HQUSACE Approval
 No inspection funds will be allocated to perform
certifications
USACE Activities 18
USACE Support-Floodplain
Management Services Program
 Can provide support for levee
certification determinations for others to
certify
 Support activities can include
• Data Collection
• Mapping
• H&H Analyses
• Geotechnical Investigations
 100 Percent Federally Funded, If Available
USACE Activities 19
Floodplain Management
Services Program (Cont’d)
 USACE can accept voluntary
contributions from State or local
government to expand scope
 USACE cannot certify levee systems
under this program
USACE Activities 20
National Levee Safety Act
 Establishes a Committee on Levee Safety to
develop and recommend a program to the
Secretary and Congress
 The program must address nine goals,
including consideration of delegation to
qualified states
 Establishes a levee database (all levees) to be
maintained by the Secretary
 Levee inspections for the Act are to be costshared
 Authorizes $20 million annually for 2008-2013
USACE Activities 21
Background on WRDA 2007
National Levee Safety Act
National
Levee Safety Act
Title IX
Section 9000
Section 9003:
Levee Safety
Committee
Section 9004:
Inventory,
Inspection, Database
And Assessment
 Complements Existing
Activities & Authorities
 Two Major Components:
• A Strategic Plan, Not a
Program
• Safety Data Collection
 “One Time” Nature
 Levees Include:
• Hurricane, Storm & Flood
• Structures:
 Earthen embankments
 Floodwalls
 Structures along
canals
USACE Activities 22
National Levee Safety Program
WRDA 2007 Title IX
Levee Safety
Act
180 days
Committee
Nominees
HQ Leadership
ASA(CW)
Congressional
Committees
Other Feds
Professional
Organizations
Review
Team
USACE (Chair)
LSO
365 days +
Sustainment
Inventory/
Inspection
USACE Title IX
Implementation
Team
Facilitator
PM 1
Admin
SA LS
LSPM (PM2)
FRMP
MSCs
Work Group
Support/PPT
ERR DX
Database NLD
Team
Districts
Inspection
Team
Others
Other
Feds
FEMA
8 State Reps
2 Private
Sector
2 Local/
Regional
Public
Awareness
Program
Development
Inventory
Team
National
Consequence
Team
Working Groups
Technical
Assistance
2 Tribal
State
Implementation
USACE Activities 23
USACE Local Offices
 An Interactive Map To Identify Closest
USACE Office Available at
http://www.usace.army.mil/howdoi/civilmap.htm
USACE Activities 24
National Flood Risk
Management Program Website
http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/nfrmp/
USACE Activities 25
USACE Website Home Page
USACE Activities 26
USACE Website (Cont’d)
 Levee Guidance and Policy (Including
Memorandums)
http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/nfrmp/guidance.cfm
 Engineering Manuals
http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-manuals/ cecw.htm
 Engineer Regulations
http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-regs/cecw.htm
USACE Activities 27
USACE Website (Cont’d)
 Engineer Technical Letters
http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-tech-ltrs/
 Other Documents (USACE HQ Library)
http://www.usace.army.mil/howdoi/publications.htm
USACE Activities 28
Questions?
USACE Activities 29