Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices PDF
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Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices Committee on Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices Water Science and Technology Board Division on Earth and Life Studies Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. Support for this study was provided by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency under grant contract number HSHQDC-11-D-00009 and task order HSFEHQ-11-J-0001. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or rec- ommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-28290-1 International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-28290-X Library of Congress Control Number 2013940694 Cover image courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division. Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (Washington metropolitan area); http://www.nap.edu. Copyright 2013 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientifc and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr.,s are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.nationalacademies.org Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices COMMITTEE ON LEVEES AND THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM: IMPROVING POLICIES AND PRACTICES GERALD E. GALLOWAY, Chair, University of Maryland, College Park PATRICK L. BROCKETT, University of Texas, Austin SUSAN L. CUTTER, University of South Carolina, Columbia DAVID T. FORD, David Ford Consulting Engineers, Sacramento, California CLIVE Q. GOODWIN, FM Global Insurance Company, Johnston, Rhode Island KARIN M. JACOBY, Spica Consulting, LLC, Kansas City, Missouri DAVID I. MAURSTAD, OST Inc., McLean, Virginia MARTIN W. McCANN, Jack R. Benjamin and Associates, Inc, Menlo Park, California ANDRE D. McDONALD, Fort Bend Flood Management Association, Sugar Land, Texas EARTHEA A. NANCE, University of New Orleans, Louisiana KENNETH W. POTTER, University of Wisconsin, Madison J. DAVID ROGERS, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla NRC STAFF LAURA J. HELSABECK, Senior Program Officer MICHAEL J. STOEVER, Research Associate iv Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD DONALD I. SIEGEL, Chair, Syracuse University, New York LISA ALVAREZ-COHEN, University of California, Berkeley EDWARD J. BOUWER, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland YU-PING CHIN, Ohio State University, Columbus M. SIOBHAN FENNESSY, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio BEN GRUMBLES, Clean Water America Alliance, Washington, D.C. GEORGE R. HALLBERG, The Cadmus Group, Watertown, Massachusetts KENNETH R. HERD, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Brooksville, Florida GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee CATHERINE L. KLING, Iowa State University, Ames DEBRA S. KNOPMAN, RAND Corporation, Arlington, Virginia LARRY LARSON, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Madison, Wisconsin RITA P. MAGUIRE, Maguire & Pearce PLLC, Phoenix, Arizona DAVID H. MOREAU, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ROBERT SIMONDS, The Robert Simonds Company, Culver City, California FRANK H. STILLINGER, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey MARYLYNN V. YATES, University of California, Riverside JAMES W. ZIGLAR, SR., Van Ness Feldman, Washington, D.C. STAFF JEFFREY W. JACOBS, Director LAURA J. EHLERS, Senior Program Officer LAURA J. HELSABECK, Senior Program Officer STEPHANIE E. JOHNSON, Senior Program Officer M. JEANNE AQUILINO, Financial and Administrative Associate MICHAEL J. STOEVER, Research Associate ANITA A. HALL, Senior Program Associate v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices Acknowledgment of Reviewers This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: GREGORY B. BAECHER, University of Maryland RUDOLPH BONAPARTE, Geosyntec Consultants MARK BROWNE, University of Wisconsin MICHAEL K. BUCKLEY, Dewberry TIMOTHY A. COHN, U.S. Geological Survey DARRYL W. DAVIS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers JEROME B. GILBERT, Consulting Engineer HOWARD KUNREUTHER, University of Pennsylvania LARRY LARSON, Association of State Floodplain Managers LEWIS E. LINK, University of Maryland JEFFREY F. MOUNT, University of California TIMOTHY TINKER, Booz Allen Hamilton Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Henry J. Vaux, University of California, and Michael C. Kava- naugh, Geosyntec Consultants. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. vii Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices Preface Over the last decades, the United States has seen significant increases in disastrous flooding and rising losses in both human and property damage along rivers and coastlines from extreme storms and hurricane events. Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy will long be remembered for their human toll and economic costs—two of the most destructive natural disasters in U.S. history. These events not only had extensive personal and economic consequences for those directly and indirectly affected, but also threaten the nation’s long-standing efforts to reduce the impacts of such events. Nations around the world face similar challenges. Many of the damages that have resulted from flooding have involved either the failure of levees and related structures to withstand flood and hurricane stress, the overtopping of these levees once their design height was exceeded, or both. The majority of losses in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 stemmed from levee failures and overtopping. Many levees along the Missouri and Upper Mississippi rivers and their tributaries that were hit by historic floods in 2008 and 2011 experienced overtopping and failure. In 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) reported that 122 levees under its oversight were at risk of failing, and later that year, the Congress passed the National Levee Safety Act. In 2009, a National Committee on Levee Safety, formed by the Act, stressed the threatening nature of this situation and indicated that a significant number of levees across the country are not well maintained and do not meet the standards required by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), USACE levee programs, or accepted engineering practices. Also in 2009, the Infrastructure Report Card of the American Society of Civil Engineers assigned a grade of “D−” to the nation’s levees and cited a maintenance backlog of nearly $50 billion. The National Research Council (NRC) and its Water Science and Technology Board were asked by the Fed- eral Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to examine the manner in which levees are addressed in the NFIP and to provide advice as to what actions might be taken to improve program efficiency and effectiveness. The NRC established the Committee on Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices to carry out this task. Committee members spent 16 months reviewing the program’s history, examin- ing numerous documents and reports, receiving briefings from relevant stakeholders including FEMA and other government agency officials. It held 12 virtual and in-person meetings in Washington, D.C., and in the Houston Texas, Sacramento, California, and St. Louis, Missouri areas to meet with those who supervise, operate, and maintain or are affected by levees. For the most of the last three centuries, the nation has relied heavily on using structural means such as levees and dams to deal with flooding. Levees that are properly constructed, maintained, and upgraded when necessary ix Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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