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  • April

    Levees are a vital part of modern flood risk management. They are part of flood defense systems that may also include flood walls, pumping stations, gates closures, and other associated structures. These elements work together to reduce risk to human life and reduce economic damages from flood events.

    Analyzing levees to save lives

    The Levee Screening Tool (LST) 2 is a web-based application that quantifies risk estimates based on the likelihood of flood loading, expected performance of the levee under those loads and the potential consequences of a levee breach or overtopping.
  • DETER is an active vehicle barrier that serves as an expedient access control solution to protect critical assets and soft targets from vehicular attack.

    Protecting Dam Facilities with innovative new technology

    As terrorists and extremist groups turn to less sophisticated methods to inflict harm, the use of vehicles in these types of attacks has shown the potential for catastrophic damages to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) projects. In response, USACE researchers developed the DETER (Deployable Expedient Traffic Entry Regulator) vehicle barrier for Soft Asset Protection at Dam Facilities.

  • January

    A crane sits on top of the spillway at the Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River in Washington. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains approximately 740 dams and associated structures that provide significant benefits to the nation.

    Researchers develop tools to forecast risk of potential infrastructure failure

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates and maintains approximately 740 dams and associated structures that provide significant, multiple benefits to the nation. In order to effectively operate and maintain those dams, USACE applies risk-informed decision making to evaluate, prioritize and justify dam safety decisions. Using risk information allows the organization to repair its dams in the most effective manner within a constrained budget.

  • November

    The Global Hydro Intelligence provides engineers and scientists solutions to combat domestic risks and potential global conflict over water resources.

    Understanding Global Hydrology

    Scientists with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) are exploring potential opportunities by utilizing a collaboration between ERDC, NASA, U.S. Air Force, and other DOD agencies in the development of Global Hydro Intelligence (GHI).

  • October

    A critical component of the region’s navigation and flood control management, the Tuttle Creek Reservoir, located on the Big Blue River in Kansas, has lost an estimated 46 percent of its original storage capacity due to sedimentation. (Photo by USACE Ranger Keith Morlewski)

    Dwindling capacity at Tuttle Creek Reservoir calls for an urgent and innovative solution

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is no stranger to sediment build-up issues. The organization is responsible for maintaining and managing thousands of miles of inland and intracoastal waterways, channels, ports and harbors with a dredging budget of more than $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2023 alone. Presently, USACE researchers are taking on a slightly different challenge and investigating new methods to diminish the accumulation of sediment in lakes and reservoirs caused by dams.