Report States Three Mississippi River Levees Are at Risk of Failing
The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) just released a report detailing a high number of levees that are at risk of failure in the Upper Mississippi River. Using data from the US Army Corps of Engineers' National Levee Database, the ELPC report examined levees in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. In those three states, six levees in total were classified as having a "high-risk" of breach. The high-risk status of those six levees puts a collective 1,854,718 people and a total of $31.18 billion worth of property in danger of flooding damages.
In addition to these high-risk levees, twelve levees were classified at a "moderate-risk," and concerningly, 60 levees in these states have not had proper safety assessments, meaning their risk level could not be determined. This is especially worrisome given the 2019 floods in the Upper Mississippi River. ELPC reports that in Illinois, 41 out of 54 levees in the St. Louis District alone filed damage reports. In the Missouri side of the St. Louis District, 30 out of 39 levees reported damage. With flooding events projected to increase in both frequency and size due to climate change, the risky status of levees along the Mississippi River is a major concern that warrants action from state and federal governments to increase climate resilience by prioritizing levee repair and the development of more natural infrastructure for flood mitigation.
To read the full report from the Environmental Law and Policy Center click
here. For more information, please contact Senior Policy Analyst,
Chris Askew-Merwin.
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