Formal Levee Inspections – USACE, Sacramento District

A rural road runs alongside a calm river, separated by a guardrail and grassy embankment. A yellow curve warning sign is visible ahead under a clear sky with trees in the background.
A paved road runs beside a calm river, bordered by leafless trees and green grass under a clear blue sky, with sunlight casting long shadows.
A grassy embankment runs alongside a narrow canal with leafless trees and a bare orchard under a clear blue sky on a sunny day.

Client

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Sacramento District

Location

Various

Services Provided

  • Levee inspection
  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Geologic engineering
  • Structural engineering
  • Formal inspections
  • Program and project management

Challenges

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Sacramento District is one of USACE’s largest districts, and covers all or part of eight western states.  USACE maintains the National Levee Database inventory of about 7,000 levee systems or 30,000 miles of levees nationwide.  Levee systems change over time and require continual inspection and repair to maintain their original functionality.

USACE implements a Formal Inspection program to inspect federally authorized levees every five years to monitor the overall condition, identify deficiencies, and confirm maintenance activities.

Solution

RJH has performed formal inspections of over 30 levee systems located in California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah.  The system includes over 210 miles of levees, flood damage reduction channels, pump stations, and floodwalls.  RJH personnel compiled existing system documentation, evaluated design criteria against current standards, prepared pre-inspection packets, conducted field inspections to identify and map operational and safety concerns, prepared inspection reports, and recommended remediation actions.  We performed detailed inspection and documentation of over 210 miles of levee embankment, four large pumping stations, three interior drainage facilities, hundreds of irrigation pumps and associated penetrations, and various other encroachments and facilities.