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In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina three years ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established a certification process for all flood levees different from the inspection process the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers carries out to make sure levees meet its own guidelines. Osawatomie recently approved a sum of $47,000 to Wilson and Co. Engineering to certify its levee is in compliance with FEMA regulations in the wake of July 2007’s devastating flood.
“The primary purpose of the certification process is to evaluate levees for structural integrity as well as whether or not they can still protect property from the 100-year flood,” Osawatomie City Manager Bret Glendening said.
According to FEMA’s Web site, a number of criteria must be met and steps taken for a levee to be certified. At minimum, a levee must maintain a minimum 3 foot freeboard base above flood elevation, engineers must perform structural analyses addressing foundation stability, and the city operating the levee must have a workable maintenance plan to ensure the levee’s continual maintenance.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers performs the inspection process to make sure levees are in compliance with their regulations, but levee certification required by FEMA must be contracted to engineering firms, which makes it a slightly more complicated process, Glendening said.
Very few engineering firms are willing to do the certification work FEMA requires, which often results in cities paying out sums similar to what Osawatomie paid to have their own levees certified.
“I can’t be for certain, but my suspicion would be that many engineering firms are probably not comfortable putting their insurance and licenses on the line to certify a structure they did not design to begin with,” Glendening said.
Glendening added that many of the levees in the U.S. were built by the Corps of Engineers, then turned over to cities like Osawatomie to maintain.
“For an independent firm to come in and say ‘yes, this levee is certified,’ and then a flood happens or the levee fails — the first place the government is likely to turn to is the firm that made the certification,” Glendening said.
The city manager added he has no doubt Osawatomie’s levee will be certified.
“We’ve passed with flying colors for years,” Glendening said.
Wilson and Co. Engineering could not be reached for comment before press time.
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