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February 2008                                                                                              Volume 14 - Number 1

Recent Disasters...

Nevada Levee Failure
By Rob Benedict

In early January California and Nevada were hammered by a massive winter storm over a three-day period.  Although storms in this area are not all that unusual the intensity and timing of this particular storm, immediately following other powerful storms, lead to massive damages on the communities in its path.  

The winter storm dumped up to 10 inches of rainfall in California mountain communities in the east while Nevada received nearly six feet (two meters) of snow according to the National Weather Service figures.   It was reported on January 7th that 11 deaths were blamed on the winter storm and nine people were missing in snow-covered mountains.  

In addition to many weather related injuries and some deaths, an earthen irrigation canal levee located the town of Fernley, Nevada failed as a result of the added stress of due to increased precipitation caused by successive storms and melting snow.  Fernley, Nevada is a small town of approximately 20,000 people located 30 miles east of Reno, Nevada.  According to Fernley Mayor Todd Cutler the water escaped through a 50-foot breach in the levee, affecting 300 to 400 homes in about one square mile.    

Following the levee failure Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials reached the area to participate in the damage assessment to determine whether a request for a presidential emergency declaration was justified. Governor Jim Gibbons declared a state emergency and following a FEMA review of the affected area on January 8, 2008 President Bush declared an official federal disaster area.  

The declaration of a federal disaster opened the door for federal funding in various forms. According to FEMA, the assistance will cover the following three areas; individual assistance, public assistance, and hazard mitigation assistance.  Specifically, these funds are focused to return the area to normalcy by assisting the general public, repairing and replacing of disaster-damaged public facilities, and creating programs to reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards of this type and others.   

The specific cause of the break is still unknown although burrowing rodents played a role in a smaller previous collapse at a different spot in December 1996 and could likely be the culprit this time as well.   Although this breach pales in comparison to the Katrina levee failure it still is an indication of a larger problem with levees and dikes throughout the United States.  

According to the Army Corps of Engineers levees in 80 cities in the U.S. have one or more deficient conditions and many areas are at risk until levees are improved.   In summation a Professor of engineering at University of Maryland, Gerald E. Galloway, who specializes in levee engineering voiced the fears of many when he stated that "The recent failure of a levee in a Nevada irrigation canal points out growing infrastructure problems" throughout the nation.