National Levee Safety Commission

After decades of ignoring the safety and condition of the nation’s levees, the U.S. Congress in 2007 recognized the dangers that a lack of a federal levee safety program posed to the nation. As part of the Water Resources Development Act, the USACE was charged with developing guidelines for a program and released its report in January 2009. This, in conjunction with the national levee inventory, is an important first step to protecting lives and property behind the nation’s levees.