Huntington needed to make sure that Federal Emergency Management Agency did not re-map their two existing levee systems as flood-prone. We provided the city coordination, research and evaluation of their levee systems by using a three-phase plan to certify that the existing levee systems met minimum design, operation and maintenance standards The first phase was to access the current status of the levee by reviewing existing documentation. The second phase involved our multidiscipline engineers and scientists analyzing the levee systems to identify design issues and validate design parameters. The third phase involved completing the certification and providing materials for the city to submit to FEMA for certification.
Built in the 1930s and located along the Ohio and Guyandotte Rivers, both systems had received a Provisionally Accredited Levee designation. In order to be certified and remain mapped outside the flood zone, the FEMA required verification that the two systems provide protection from the one percent annual chance of flood. Both levee systems are functioning as intended and no rehabilitation was necessary. Both systems are currently under FEMA review.
