Corps Opens Updated National Levee Database

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the updated National Levee Database (NLD) for public access June 5.  The NLD is a living, dynamic information source that provides visualization and search capability on the location and condition of levee systems nationwide.

“The National Levee Database is a public view into the information that builds understanding of the benefits and potential risks levees pose for the communities in which they exist,” said Eric Halpin,  Corps deputy dam and levee safety officer. “The database now contains levee information within the Corps program, FEMA and other states and federal agencies. We continue to work closely with additional federal, state, and local agencies and tribes to include the information about other levees on a voluntary basis.”

The database includes attributes of levees and floodwalls relevant to flood fighting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair and inspection.  Because the location and characteristics of levee systems can be viewed on a map with real-time data from other sources, such as stream gauges and weather radar, it is a useful tool for a variety of public agencies and individuals including flood plain managers, emergency management agencies, levee system sponsors and citizens who live or work behind a levee.

Currently the NLD includes information on approximately 33,000 miles of levee, which includes 14,500 miles of levee systems associated with Corps programs, 15,000 miles from the FEMA mid-term levee inventory and several other states and federal agencies.

The database is available at https://levees.sec.usace.army.mil. More information about the Levee Safety Program is available at:  www.usace.army.mil/LeveeSafety