WASHINGTON (June 20, 2008) —Approximately 250 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilians are working with federal, state and local agencies in support of historic flooding in the Midwest region.  The Corps is working side by side with local responders to monitor and advise on the stability of levees while providing professional engineering expertise and materiel during the flooding.

To date, the Corps has provided:

• 110 pumps, 2,700 rolls of plastic sheeting, and 13.2 million sandbags to support the flood fight. The sandbags, if laid end-to-end, would span from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.
• Debris removal, temporary housing, technical assistance and movement of commodities to communities across Iowa.
• Drinking water to Iowa and Illinois residents.
• Soldiers from the 249th Engineer Battalion, the Army’s power generation experts, to support critical facilities with the temporary emergency power assessments in Iowa.
• Experts to monitor a portion of the Mississippi River, which is currently closed to barge traffic because of high water safety concerns.
• GIS (Geospatial Information System) experts to produce a variety of flood related mapping that aids in preparedness, response and recovery efforts.

According to Corps officials, 32 levees have overtopped (seven federally authorized, 21 non-federally authorized, and four private levees, see definitions of levee types below).  The potential exists for one to two inches of rain within the basin over the next few days that will continue to stress the river. 

In response, the Corps has deployed civilian experts from three major inland river systems, Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio, to monitor and assess the stability of the Mississippi River levees against forecasted river levels.

NOTE: A federally authorized levee is a levee designed and built by the Corps then turned over to a local sponsor to operate, maintain, repair and replace the levee. A non-federally authorized levee is a levee designed and built by a non-federal agency, which is responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of the levee. The Corps has no responsibility for private or corporate-owned levees.