Drove My Chevy to the Levee, but the Levee Was Not There

The Army Corps of Engineers is charged with inspecting the nation’s 2,487 levees, most of which are under-built, in disrepair or at varying levels of dysfunction. Unfortunately for the 10 million residents of surrounding communities – and sometimes folks far away who can be profoundly impacted – a failed levee can bring massive flooding and the destruction that goes with it. We’re not just talking about farm country or New Orleans. Cities like Sacramento, Dallas, Cleveland, and even the nation’s capital are at risk. About 42% of those levees have yet to be examined, and of the ones that the Corps has checked out, the numbers are abysmal.

“As of Jan. 10, the agency had rated 1,451 or 58 percent, of them. Of those, 326 were unacceptable, 1,004 were minimally acceptable with deficiencies that need correcting, and 121 were acceptable….Compared with other types of infrastructure, the nation's levees, within and outside federal jurisdiction, don't fare well. They earned a D-minus for overall condition from the American Society of Civil Engineers in its latest report card in 2009, ranking behind dams, bridges, rails and eight other categories.” Huffington Post, January 17^th. What exactly does “unacceptable” mean? In a period of rapidly changing climatic parameters, do we really want to find out?

So many of the structures simply sport decaying infrastructure that has just worn out. Others have been savaged by wildlife or out-of-control vegetation. Some are just too close to human facilities or just aren’t high enough to protect against any sudden increase in water flow. And way too many were built long before there were any engineering standards; the construction materials of choice back in the late 1800s – dirt and rocks.

Take one example: the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the 1,110 mile system of levees began construction in the 19^th century and completed most of the work to the present system by 1930. Most of the land contained within the system is now below sea level. With so much old-school, pre-modern code construction, this levee system is particularly vulnerable. “Since 1900, there have been over 160 levee failures in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Levee failures, also known as levee breaches, can be caused by overtopping or structural failure… Structural failure is usually caused by inadequate foundations, subsidence, seepage, erosion, and burrowing animals. Earthquakes can also cause levee failure through soil liquefaction. The most current example of levee failure in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta was documented in June of 2004 when a levee breach caused more than 150,000 acre·ft … of water to flood the entire island of Jones Tract [in the middle of the Delta].

“A significant earthquake in the region (magnitude 6.5), which is not unlikely in the coming decades, could cause widespread levee failure, allowing saltwater to flood the Delta and enter the canals that supply fresh water (for irrigation and drinking) to central and southern California. This scenario is sometimes called the ‘Big Gulp,’ and it is estimated that it would cause $40 billion of economic loss to California. A similar result (widespread levee breaches) could also be caused by a combination of sea level rise, high tide, and storm surges.” Wikipedia. Estimates suggest that Los Angeles could lose almost one-third of its water supply in such a disaster, and it would take billions of dollars and three to five years to effect required repairs. What are the probabilities of at least a 6.5 quake in the region? 100%... the only question is when.

The 2005 Katrina-created failure of the levee systems in and around New Orleans was a wake-up call. The Corps stepped up its vigilance big time, but we are still woefully short of the repairs that we must make or face countless billions in damage beyond what it would cost to effect repairs now. “After Katrina, California voters approved nearly $5 billion in bonds to shore up the state's aging flood protection system. With more than half the money spent, officials say they need up to $12 billion more to finish… If the [Sacramento-San Joaquin levee system] were to fail, ‘it would be beyond catastrophic,’ said Angelique Ashby, [Sacramento's] vice mayor… The levee's unacceptable rating led federal emergency officials to impose strict building limits that have prevented homeowners from making repairs and delayed construction of schools and a police station, she said.” Huffington Post.

And of course Congress is ready to spend the money to make the fix in order to avoid the massively bigger costs later? Of course not! They are no more likely to order a fix as they are to restore funding to an American educational system that is no longer training enough of our children to compete in global economy.

The House won’t authorize needed expenditures, and all appropriations bills must start there. “In 2009, a congressional advisory panel recommended that Congress invest in levees, create national levee programs and enact policies to increase awareness about the risks of flooding. But Congress has yet to adopt the group’s report. In the meantime, experts are warning that aging and weak flood-control systems will likely face stiffer tests as climate change makes severe storms more common in the coming years… ‘This is going to be a national problem and it just hasn't dawned on people how big it’s going to be,; said Jeffrey Mount, a levee management specialist and founder of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis. ‘We're in a never-ending cycle of flood and rebuild.’” Huffington Post. Hold on for a very rough ride.

I’m Peter Dekom, and once again Congress is willing to keep current repair bills low and foist the almost certain and massive costs of failed infrastructure on the budgets of future elected representatives.