ASDSO Levee Safety Activities
ASDSO continues to promote the work of the National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) and advocate for the creation of a National Levee Safety Program. In 2006 the voting membership of ASDSO approved a resolution supporting the creation of a National Levee Safety Program. In addition, at their March 2009 meeting, the ASDSO Board of Directors voted to support the recommendations contained in the NCLS January 2009 Draft Report to Congress. At that meeting the Board also voted to support combining the National Dam Safety Program with a new National Levee Safety Commission, and to support a new, single, independent dam and levee safety commission to administer the combined programs.
ASDSO Resolution 1-2006 National Levee Safety Program
March 2009 Board of Directors Minutes
The ASDSO Board of Directors established a standing Levee Safety Committe in June of 2009. Follow this link for the Levee Safety Committee webpage.
The ASDSO Levee Safety Committee developed an issue brief on the Implementation of a National Levee Safety Program and Discussion of ASDSO's Involvement. Read Issue Brief
ASDSO Priorities for Implementation of a National Levee Safety Program
The ASDSO leadership and has developed a document detailing priorities for implementation of a National Levee Safety Program. The document is based on a questionnaire format used by the NCLS and it presents a series of questions asked of NCLS Review Team members and ASDSO’s responses. ASDSO provides this to members and supporters for use when attending NCLS Levee Stakeholder Meetings or when engaged in any discussions involving levee safety. The document is available at the following link.
ASDSO Priorities for a National Levee Safety Program
National Levee Database
On October 27, 2011, the US Army Corps of Engineers officially opened the National Levee Database (NLD) to the public with the first of three public webinars, making a reality of the provision in Section 9004 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 that called for a comprehensive database of our nation's levees. The NLD is a living, dynamic database that for the first time allows visualization and the ability to search nationally the location and condition of levee systems. The roll-out version of the NLD included information on more than 14,700 miles of levee systems in the USACE program. The ultimate goal is to expand the database to include all levees constructed and/or operated by other federal agencies as well as non-federal levees. USACE is working with FEMA to include information on levees participating in the National Flood Insurance Program. When information on all federal and non-federal levees is included, the NLD will provide a single comprehensive source for users, will allow those flood-fighting to identify areas of concerns, and will allow residents to become more informed about the levees in their neighborhood.
National Committee on Levee Safety
The NCLS is a committee of federal, state, local, and private sector members with the direction from Congress to prepare recommendations and a strategic implementation plan on a National Levee Safety Program.
National Committee on Levee Safety Website (including the Draft 2009 Report to Congress)
NCLS - Levees 101 (includes information on levees, what happens when it floods, and levee failures)
Links & Documents
ASDSO Survey of the States on Levee Safety - 2006
ASDSO Testimony to the House of Representatives - May 2009
ASCE "So You Live Behind a Levee" (Developed with support from ASDSO.)
National Levee Database Web Reporting Tool (NLD-WRT) - Public View (May 2011)
"Emergency Preparedness Guidelines for Levees: A Guide for Owners and Operators"- January 2012.