The USACE levee safety officials and levee managers from Walla Walla County’s Mill Creek Flood Control Zone District met yesterday with Walla Walla County commissioners to inform them of a recent Corps screening-level risk assessment of the Mill Creek Levee System.
The Mill Creek Levee System’s latest annual inspection meets levee-safety criteria required to participate in the Corps’ Levee Safety Program.
Inspections evaluate the condition of the structure and maintenance activities. Inspections do not examine what could happen if a flood occurred which exceeded the levees’ capabilities.
The Levee Safety Action Classification (LSAC) is a new method of evaluating levees according to risk.
The Corps is conducting risk assessments of all levee systems in its Levee Safety Program nationwide to better understand the risks to communities, and advise and assist levee managers.
The initial screening-level risk assessments result in a LSAC assignment for all levees. This way of classifying levees allows for a common comparison or prioritization according to risk.
Levee screening and LSAC supports the Corps’ levee safety mission as outlined by the National Levee Safety Act, Title IX, Section 9004 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.
The program evaluates the risks and potential consequences of levee failure during extreme flow conditions, and what that could mean for those who live and work in leveed areas.