Pennsylvania’s aging levees face growing flood risks, funding challenges – Metro Philadelphia

Pennsylvania’s aging levees face growing flood risks, funding challenges  Metro Philadelphia

Pennsylvania’s aging levees face growing flood risks as heavier rainfall, rising maintenance costs and uncertain funding challenge communities across the state. Pennsylvania has over 180 levees that span approximately 155 miles (255 kilometers) and keep its rivers from flooding. They protect about 158,000 people and US$26.2 billion in property across the state, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, those levees are aging, and funding to maintain and improve them is becoming scarcer. At the same time, extreme weather is becoming increasingly frequent and severe. As a geotechnical engineer and geohazards researcher, I study how levees respond to flooding. I also help develop solutions to evaluate, manage and improve aging levee infrastructure. These solutions are more important than ever as Pennsylvania continues to see record rainfall this season.

A small levee along Moshannon Creek was constructed in 1973 in Philipsburg, Pa. Kaleigh Yost, CC BY-NC-SA Levees are earthen embankments positioned parallel to a river that effectively raise the height of the banks of the river to prevent overflow when the river swells. Don’t let yourself be misled. Understand issues with help from experts Typically, levees are designed to prevent flooding from a particular-size flood. Often, that’s a flood that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. Levees can be breached when water flows over the top during flooding. They can also fail due to erosion, water seeping