America’s dams and levees play a critical role in protecting communities, supporting water management, and strengthening economies. On August 26, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) held a webinar, Making the Grade: Dams/Levees, which brought together leading engineers and infrastructure experts to discuss both challenges and solutions sustaining these essential facilities.
The webinar explored key findings from the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which assigned a D+ to the nation’s dams and levees – an improvement from their 2021 grades, but an indication that significant deficiencies remain.
While improvements in both dams and levees contributed to higher grades in 2025, aging infrastructure, limited funding for maintenance and rehabilitation, and increasing impacts from extreme weather continue to pose serious risks to communities nationwide.
Panelists included:
- Dan Wade, GEI Consultants
- Mike Bachard, GEI Consultants
- Bill Foos, U.S. Society on Dams
- John Roche, Association of State Dam Safety Officials
- Del Shannon, ASCE Committee on America’s Infrastructure
Together, panelists discussed factors behind the 2025 grades, ongoing challenges facing owners and operators, and strategies for building safer and more resilient infrastructure systems.
Slides from the webinar are available here.