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Myths
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Facts
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USACE is responsible for all of the nation’s levees.
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USACE has specific authorities for approximately 2,000 levees, or 14,000 miles nationwide. There is still a large universe of private and other non-USACE levees that have not been inventoried or inspected. The National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) has estimated that there may be more than 100,000 miles of levees nationwide, many of which have not been inspected or inventoried. The precise size of this ‘universe of levees’, where the levees are located, their condition, or the consequences of poor performance is currently unknown. See also: Program Overview.
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If I live or work behind a levee, I am safe from flooding.
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Infrastructure alone, including levees, does not eliminate risk. Poorly designed, constructed, operated or maintained levees and floodwalls increase risk as they can provide a false sense of security. However, levees can buy critical time for local emergency management officials to safely evacuate residents. See Also: So You Live Behind a Levee, developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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If I live or work behind a levee that provides 100 year protection, I don't need to purchase flood insurance.
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Projects built to the 1 percent annual chance exceedance (100-year flood) event do not entirely eliminate the risk of flooding. The 1 percent annual chance event, as it relates to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), is used to determine flood insurance requirements and is not a safety standard. All levees, regardless of their level of protection, stand at risk of overtopping, breach or failure during a storm event that exceeds its design capacity. If you live in the floodplain, it is prudent to consider investing in flood insurance even if it is not required. See Also: FEMA’s Levee System Information for Stakeholders
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USACE is responsible to certify the levees in my area.
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Certifying levee data to meet levee accreditation requirements for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the responsibility of the local levee owner or sponsor. USACE inspections and assessments examine levee systems from a systems perspective, addressing the totality of potential economic, environmental, and public safety risks. While information from USACE inspections may be used for NFIP purposes, USACE does not perform levee system evaluations solely to meet NFIP accreditation criteria. USACE is responsible for providing certification information for those levees it owns and operates. See Also: Levee System Evaluation for the National Flood Insurance Program
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Vegetation, especially trees are good for levees because they help control erosion.
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This is true for most perennial grasses, but other types of vegetation such as trees and shrubs can harm the structural integrity of the infrastructure by destabilizing soil, providing seepage paths, etc. It can also obscure visibility, impede access for maintenance and inspection, and/or hinder emergency flood fighting operations. See Also: Levee System Vegetation Management.
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Maintenance on my levee is all I need to worry about.
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While operating and maintaining a levee is extremely important, the levee systems performance during a flood event is critically important. The performance of a levee is related to its engineering design standards. In cases where a levee may have been originally designed and built for agricultural purposes, subsequent development behind the levee and increases in infrastructure and population can impose substantially greater risks to residents who live in the floodplain because the levee system that had been originally designed for agricultural purposes does not afford the necessary protection required for large communities. A lack of proper maintenance of such levee systems further increases the risk of future flood events. Additional development in the floodplain may also change how water moves in and around the area. See Also: So You Live Behind a Levee, developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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There’s nothing an individual can do to impact levee safety—my local officials have it under control.
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While it may be true that your local officials have adopted protocols and procedures for ensuring public safety, the general public should remain aware of emergency announcements during times of flooding. Ensuring public safety is everyone’s responsibility; there are a variety of safety practices that the public can utilize to lessen the impacts if the levee is overtopped or fails. First, be sure that you have an evacuation plan so that you can get you and your family out of harm’s way. Levees and floodwalls are never completely safe from failing during a flood event. Second, if you live in the floodplain, it is prudent to consider investing in flood insurance even if it is not required. Third, investigating ways to increase your communities resilience against future flood events and ensuring that your home or business is protected from flooding can provide additional benefits. See Also: So You Live Behind a Levee, developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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