The NY Canal Corporation's new Earthen Embankment Integrity Program is all about one thing... mitigation of potential flood risk to all communities around the Erie Canal.

Please read it again...

The NY Canal Corporation's new Earthen Embankment Integrity Program is all about one thing... mitigation of potential flood risk to all communities around the Erie Canal.

And guess what.. NY State is not the only place with potential flooding problems like our Erie Canal. There is a concerted effort in our country, being led by FEMA, to identify infrastructure in each state that can FLOOD people if not addressed. FEMA is actually looking to find these aging dam structures to identify risk to the public & the environment. Here's the link to that FEMA site

https://www.fema.gov/national-dam-safety-program

As each state finds issues they also might just get a Technical Advisement written for them as well, by FEMA, to direct them to more resources to use in their effort to understand Dam Safety Risk and also how to mitigate those risk factors... Here's one written for North & South Carolina.

Risk Exposure and Residual Risk Related to Dams -  FEMA TA2-RiskExposureandResidualRiskRelatedtoDams_508.pdf (231.65 kB - downloaded 4 times.)

What is interesting about this particular publication is that is as much relevant to the EEIP work as it is for the intended audience in the Carolinas. This is a great read for anyone who lives along the Erie Canal to help understand what's really going on with work along it's embankments.

Here's the purpose of this FEMA advisement.



If you didn't know it.. this could have been written for anyone along the Erie Canal who's property is being directly affected by the EEIP program or any of the 100's of thousands of people living below these dams in higher risk, Dam Hazard Creep Zones. In the end it's really about the potential risk, and how those risks are managed, when you discuss living near dams. Here's a section on Hazard Creep.



And again from this same FEMA paper... it's about understanding the flood risk and what circumstance got you to unsafe, as well as how they can be resolved.. here's a couple that are always identified and also apply to the EEIP work going on right in our own backyards. Lack of proper maintenance is always and issue that FEMA is trying to resolve for the future.



Another great publication, with a whole list of other links to even more great reference material on Dam Safety