How Flood Mapping Tools Help USACE Decide to Invest in Dam and Levee Fixes
The art and science of designing and constructing new and modifying existing dams and levees is complex. The Risk Management Center (RMC), part of USACE’s Institute for Water Resources (IWR), is well acquainted with this challenge as the agency’s in-house expert on studying and making decisions to effectively manage infrastructure by reducing life safety risks.
Established in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the RMC’s charge was to improve management controls over infrastructure decisions, maintain expertise, and ensure USACE operates dams and levees safely and efficiently. Over the past 15 years, RMC has saved taxpayers billions of dollars by directing investments to essential improvements at the most critical structures. Key to their success: prioritizing life safety using a risk-informed approach.
USACE is responsible for more than 700 dams and 1,600 levee systems across the U.S. Managing this portfolio comes with significant challenges, including deciding when and how to reinvest to fix or improve projects. Previously, these needs were captured as they occurred and often focused on fixing as things break rather than taking a pre-emptive approach.
RMC established and managed USACE’s risk assessment process, which now underpins agency decisions to reinvest in existing dams and levees, and design and construct new flood risk management solutions. Risk assessments help the agency prioritize actions that help save lives.
Risk assessments are analyses that ask what hazards a dam or levee may face, how dams and levees will perform during those hazards, and how people and property may be impacted should an issue occur. Resulting information supports proactive planning to intervene well before an infrastructure emergency occurs.
USACE decision makers use risk assessment information to intervene before an issue occurs with the action most impactful to life safety. Fixes range from designing and constructing a structural solution, to partnering with others to improve emergency readiness and response during a dam or levee-related flood.
Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) is an important tool to this process, underpinning all USACE risk assessment hazard analysis. The tool helps teams determine the frequency and type of flooding that may occur, a critical input for any risk assessment.
This data is also critical to consequence analyses, which identify who and what may be endangered during a dam or levee flood event. Tools like RMC’s LifeSym rely on HEC-RAS to provide hydraulic information for warning and prevention modeling.
HEC-RAS is a fundamental tool that supports RMC’s risk assessment process. This modeling is also often used to generate inundation maps, which show where water could go during a rain or storm event. This information not only helps USACE support public safety, but also critical state and community level partners who ensure people are ready and safe should a flood event occur.
Centers like the RMC and HEC continuously collaborate to share data and tools and ensure they support decision makers no matter where they sit in the agency or externally.
Learn more about the RMC by visiting https://www.rmc.usace.army.mil/.
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Date Taken:
12.22.2025
Date Posted:
12.30.2025 10:24
Story ID:
555376
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US
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