Aging levees, heavier storms a rising threat in West [View all]

By Farshid Vahedifard / For The Conversation

In recent weeks, powerful atmospheric river storms have swept across Washington, Oregon and California, unloading enormous amounts of rain. As rivers surged, they overtopped or breached multiple levees, those long, often unnoticed barriers holding floodwaters back from homes and towns.

Most of the time, levees don’t demand attention. They quietly do their job, year after year. But when storms intensify, levees suddenly matter in a very personal way. They can determine whether a neighborhood stays dry or ends up underwater.

The recent damage in the West reflects a nationwide problem that has been building for decades. Across the U.S., levees are getting older while weather is becoming more extreme. Many of these structures were never designed for the enormous responsibility they now carry.

As a civil engineer at Tufts University, I study water infrastructure, including the vulnerability of levees and strategies for making them more resilient. My research also shows that when levees fail, the consequences don’t fall evenly on the population.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-aging-levees-heavier-storms-a-rising-threat-in-west/