Corps Unveils Public National Levee Database
If you want an early briefing of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ new, National Levee Database, register soon because there are only 120 spaces available for each of three webinars that have been scheduled to introduce it, starting Oct. 27.
The Corps is announcing public access to the NLD, a dynamic information source that provides, for the first time, map-based visualization and search capabilities for the location and condition of levee systems nationwide. Developed by engineers and scientists, it is said to have a "distinctly technical feel."
There will be at least two levels of access, one, will make available about 95% of the data as information for the general public. But because of Department of Homeland Security restrictions, access to the additional 5% of more sensitive information will be limited to government and public safety officials.
“Executive summaries of systems will be there, but the public may not have access to reports with specific deficiencies,” says Eric C. Halpin, the USACE special assistant for dam and levee safety. “Security specialists and DHS tell us the bad guys still consume the most important information from the Internet.”
The database can be found at http://nld.usace.army.mil.
Site users will be able to learn about attributes of specific levees and floodwalls that are relevant to flood fighting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, inspection and potential for failure.
The system requires data on certain minimum attributes to ensure nationwide consistency, but it also includes many optional fields useful for informing local or regional levee management decisions.
In addition, the NLD contains population data, which will allow for the assessment of the potential life loss and economic and property consequences of any overtopping or breach.
More than 14 million people live behind levees that are under Corps authority.
“The National Levee Database is intended to be an authoritative source for information on levees nationally; very similar to the national registry of dams,” says Halpin.
“One of the goals of the National Levee Database is to make as much information available to as many people as humanly possible. That goes to the whole concept of shared responsibility. In order for all of us to collectively manage that risk as best we can, we have to have as much material available as possible.”
Currently the NLD includes information on more than 14,700 miles of levees systems that are associated with USACE programs.
“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,” says Halpin. “Because we have information on the physical location and size of levees, we can model to show where potential floods will go on long-range projections for flows and outflows. We can also predict flood crests and see how we could flood fight events at low points of levees.”
Last spring's epic flood fight floodways in the Mississippi River & Tributaries System—during which all three of the system's floodways were used—offers examples of the value of the data. Using it, the Corps was able to predict “with high degree of accuracy” where inundation would occur, Halpin says.
“Using smart phones with photos tagged back to NLD, we were able to track better than ever before where the flooding was. We were also able to communicate what was going on quicker and, post flood, able to assess needs in a much more useful way.”
The NLD will constantly change as new information is added and capabilities improve. The main sources of updates will be routine, annual inspections; periodic inspections (five-year cycle); risk assessments (five- to 10-year basis) and flood events that generate new data. “Because we now have apps like smart phone apps, we expect we will get an almost continuous stream of data that is valuable to us,” Halpin says.
The Corps expects data collection by its contractors to be complete soon, so its full portfolio of levees will be in the NLD early next year. However, the Corps portfolio represents only a fraction of the nation’s estimated 100,000 miles of levees. The Corps is not authorized to collect data on levees not in its jurisdiction.
Local and state authorities may submit data, and many have indicated that they would like to include their levees in the NLD, Halpin says. However, without establishment of a national levee safety program, state and local officials say they don’t have the funds to compile the data.
The NLD will be interactive and dynamic. In addition to the various options for viewing information in map or report form, the NLD includes geospatial models. Levees cover large areas and are good candidates for geospatial mapping.
The database should also integrate well with geospatial databases of other agencies, such as that of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather data, and installed systems of environmental monitors and stream gauges.
Integration with other data systems still is in development, but officials say they wanted to get the NLD out to the public soon "because is important to get the data already available out there and get people used to looking at it and using it."
The three, free webinars to be held at 2 p.m. EDT on Thurs., Oct. 27; 2 p.m. EDT on Wed., Nov. 2 and 11 a.m. Thurs., Nov. 3. Registration is required: ">http://nld.usace.army.mil/publicrollout
