Now Available for Your iPad

Now Available for Your iPhone and iPad Touch

Now Available for Your Android

America's GPA: D+
Estimated Investment Needed by 2020:
$3.6 Trillion

Levees  D-

Categories

Water & Environment

Transportation

Categories

Public Facilities

Energy

The nation’s estimated 100,000 miles of levees can be found in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Many of these levees were originally used to protect farmland, and now are increasingly protecting developed communities. The reliability of these levees is unknown in many cases, and the country has yet to establish a National Levee Safety Program. Public safety remains at risk from these aging structures, and the cost to repair or rehabilitate these levees is roughly estimated to be $100 billion by the National Committee on Levee Safety. However, the return on investment is clear – as levees helped in the prevention of more than $141 billion in flood damages in 2011.

Launch the full Levees report

News

View All
  • Senate Passes WRDA
  • 05/15/13

  • ASCE applauds the Senate today for passing the Water Resources Development Act (S. 601). The 83 – 14 vote on final passage caps off a huge bipartisan effort from Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA). The final $12 billion package includes several of ASCE top priorities for [...]

  • Draft Bill Would Change Long Established Peer Review For NSF Research
  • 05/13/13

  • Draft legislation is being circulated by new House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) which would require all research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to be certified to “advance the national health, prosperity, or welfare” and “secure the national defense” of the United States. The NSF must certify that each funded project is [...]

  • WRDA on Senate Floor…Call Your Senator Today!
  • 05/08/13

  • The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) has reached center stage in the Senate this week, with votes beginning on amendments at 2pm today. The legislation provides much needed improvements to locks, dams, levees, and other waterway elements across the country through the authorization of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers programs. The first hurdle for the [...]

  • Senate to Take Up Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
  • 05/06/13

  • The Senate is expected to take up the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) when Senators return to Washington today. At this time, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said that he will hold a cloture vote on the legislation Monday evening. Cloture requires 60 votes and limits debate in order to block an attempt at [...]

  • Former USDOT Heads Offer Advice While New Appointee Is Named
  • 04/30/13

  • In a serendipitous coincidence, six of America’s former Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) gathered for the Goode Transportation  Policy Conference less than 10 minutes away from the White House where President Obama was announcing his new nominee for Secretary of Transportation, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. Here’s what the former secretaries had to [...]

  • ASCE Statement on the Nomination of Mayor Anthony Foxx for Transportation Secretary
  • 04/29/13

  • WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following is a statement from Gregory E. DiLoreto, P.E., P.L.S, D.WRE, president of The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), regarding the nomination of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx for U.S. Transportation Secretary: “We are very encouraged by Mayor Foxx’s nomination. Now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to improving our [...]

  • Happy Earth Day from ASCE!
  • 04/22/13

  • Did you know the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970?  That it was first proposed by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin?  That Senator Nelson was inspired by campus activism on the late 1960’s? Learn all about the history of Earth Day here. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States [...]

  • Obama’s FY 2014 Priorities STEM Education Programs
  • 04/19/13

  • The President’s FY 2014 budget request places new emphasis on STEM (Science-Technology- Education-Mathematics) education.  The total STEM education funding request, across all federals agencies, amounts to $3.1 billion; this represents an increase of 6.7 percent over 2012 funding levels. While the proposed increase is noteworthy, the President’s proposal includes an ambitious reorganization of federal STEM [...]

  • ASCE Educates State Officials on the Report Card, You Can get the Same Information!
  • 04/18/13

  • ASCE recently conducted a webinar in partnership with the Council of State Governments (CSG) for an audience of state policymakers.  The webinar focused on the 2013 Report Card on America’s Infrastructure and how state governments can use the data contained in the Report Card in order to help improve their local infrastructure.  Notable participants included [...]