Levee Portfolio Report - A Summary of Risks and Benefits Associated With the USACE Levee Portfolio

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Levee Portfolio Report:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) levee portfolio includes about 2,220 levee systems totaling approximately 14,150 miles in length. Levee sponsors operate and maintain over 2,000 of these levee systems, spanning roughly 70% of the length contained in the entire levee portfolio. USACE has inventoried approximately 15,000 miles of levees outside of the USACE levee portfolio in the National Levee Database. The condition of these levees is unknown. In addition, there are an unknown number of levees in the U.S. that have yet to be identified or inventoried.
This Levee Portfolio Report shares our current understanding of the portfolio of levee systems within the USACE Levee Safety Program. Managing this portfolio of levees requires an understanding of the flood risks associated with levees in the portfolio, the risk management approaches USACE uses to understand and manage these risks, and the roles of USACE, other federal agencies, states, tribes, regional districts, and local communities in assessing, managing, and communicating levee-related flood risk.
Since 2006, USACE has been working to establish a comprehensive inventory, inspection, and risk assessment of all levees within the levee portfolio. With the inventory and initial inspections complete, the initial risk assessments on the entire portfolio are expected to be completed over the next several years. These efforts provide a more complete picture of the USACE levee portfolio than we have ever had: where levees are located (inventory); their physical condition (inspection); and the flood risk associated with each levee (assessment).
This report aims to summarize the best available information on the USACE levee portfolio, specifically to:
Promote a broader understanding of benefits and flood risks associated with the USACE levee portfolio for all stakeholders;
Provide a summary of risk factors associated with the USACE levee portfolio so that those with levee responsibilities, including USACE, can make informed risk management decisions on programmatic investments such as policy and technical guidance, training, and research and development; and
Establish a baseline set of information on the USACE levee portfolio, including the collective risk across the portfolio, to enable future trends analysis.