Periodic Levee Inspections – USACE, Sacramento District

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 an inventory of about 2,000 levee systems or 14,000 miles of levees nationwide.  Levee systems change over time and require continual inspection and repair to maintain their original functionality.

USACE implements a Periodic 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 periodic 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.