Levee certification standards increased with the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The loss of the US Army Corps of Engineers certification of the Columbia levees risked the loss of levee accreditation under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program for forty-five miles of levees along the Columbia River serving the Portland region. Levee Ready Columbia formed as a partnership between government, business, environmental and community organizations convened by Jules Bailey to identify collaborative solutions to needed improvements and associated costs of repair for accreditation as well as modernization of the levees.
The project included the work of a technical advisory subcommittee. To learn more about that work and to access subcommittee documents, go to the Levee Ready Columbia Technical Advisory Subcommittee webpage on this site.
Objectives
- Identify, fund, and implement necessary improvements to the Peninsula 1 and Peninsula 2 levees, so that they are certified by a consulting engineer as being protective of a 1 percent chance of flood.
- Achieve FEMA accreditation on a timeline and in a manner that will prevent the area from being designated on the city’s FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map as a “Significant Flood Hazard Area.”
- Create transparency in the process, so that residents and property owners are kept informed and are provided with opportunities for input and involvement.
- Meet US Army Corps of Engineers standards to stay in the Corps’ Rehabilitation and Inspection Program.