National Water Resources in Peril

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National Water Resources in Peril
Presentation to SAME Great Lakes-Ohio Valley
Regional Conference Steven L. Stockton,
P.E. Director of Civil Works U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers 12 August 2008
US Army Corps of Engineers BUILDING STRONG
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• Our Vision A great engineering force of highly
  disciplined people, working with our partners
  to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions to
  the Nations engineering challenges
• Our Purpose Provide vital engineering services
  in peace and war to strengthen our Nations
  security, energize the economy, and reduce risks
  from disasters.

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U.S. Army Civil Works ProgramPreserving the
Strength of the Nation
Deliver enduring, comprehensive, sustainable,
and integrated solutions to the Nations
water resources and related
challenges through collaboration with our
stakeholders ( Regions, States, localities,
Tribes, other Federal agencies )
Dredge ESSAYONS ( Coos Bay, OR )
Lake Seminole ( Mobile District )
Bonneville II Powerhouse (Washington )
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Water Resources Challenges

• Demographic shifts
• World population to increase 2.2 billion by 2025
• U.S. population to reach 440 million by 2050
• Population more urbanized, concentrated in
  coastal communities at risk from severe weather
  and lack of fresh water
• Persistent Conflict
• Population growth leads to increased demand for
  scarce water, environmental degradation
• gt900 million people without access to clean
  water, gt2.5 billion without adequate sanitation
• Terrorist threat need to protect infrastructure
  from attack
• U.S. role to promote regional stability

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Water Resources Challenges

• Aging Infrastructure
• ASCE overall grade of U.S. infrastructure in
  2009D Would need 2.2 trillion to fix
• Over half of Corps locks, many other facilities,
  beyond 50-year design life, need extensive
  maintenance rehabilitation
• Failure poses risk to populations, economy
• Globalization
• Foreign trade is increasing share of U.S. economy
  could reach 30 by 2010
• Inability of ports and inland waterways to handle
  greater cargoes could limit economy.
• Energy
• Development of hydropower as clean source
• Role of waterways in transport of coal, petroleum
  and natural gas
• Volumes of water needed for new sources

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Water Resources Challenges

• Environmental Values
• Pressure from increased development impacts
  natural environment
• Developing sustainable water resources will
  require cultural shift, lifestyle changes as well
  as technical innovation
• Climate Change
• Earlier spring snowmelts, river pulses seen in
  western U.S.
• Potential to affect all aspects of water resource
  management
• May exacerbate water scarcities,
• lead to increased conflict over uses.
• Declining Biodiversity
• 3 times as many freshwater species as land
  species lost to extinction
• Need for habitat restoration

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Water Resources Challenges
Increasing Demand for Water
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Water Resources Challenges
Disaster Preparedness Response

• Support FEMA
• Emergency Support Function (ESF) 3
• Public Works Engineering

• Support the Department of Defense

• Accomplish USACE missions

Faster Better Information Communication
Technology
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Water Resources Challenges

• Governance
• Determining proper roles for Federal,
• State, local and non-government entities
• Gaps in jurisdiction as watersheds
• cross political boundaries
• Perceived lack of national direction on
• water resource issues
• Continued Pressure on
• Federal Budget
• More older people more entitlement spending,
  less available for discretionary programs
• Rigorous analysis needed to ensure projects and
  programs are prioritized to ensure greatest value
  for taxpayer funds
• Legislative Changes
• Changes in legislation and appropriations have
  major effect on how soon goals can be achieved.
  Uncertainty requires flexibility.

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USACEs Campaign PlanDelivering Enduring,
Essential Water Resources Solutions
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Goal 2 Objectives

• 2a. Deliver integrated, sustainable, water
  resources solutions
• 2b. Implement collaborative approaches to
  effectively solve water resource problems
• 2c. Implement streamlined and transparent
  regulatory processes to sustain aquatic
  resources
• 2d. Enable Gulf Coast recovery

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Our Goals Delivering Enduring, Essential Water
Resources Solutions
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How We Achieve Our Goals

• Integrated Water Resource Management
• Systems Approach
• Collaboration Partnering
• Risk-Informed Decision Making Communication
• Adaptive Management
• State-of-the Art Technology

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Systems Approach

• Look at river basins, waterheds and coastal zones
  as a whole
• Shift focus from individual projects to
  interdependent system
• Shift from immediate to long-term solutions
• Recognize that any single action triggers one or
  more responses and reactions in other parts of
  the system

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Collaboration Partnering

• Allow multiple organizations
• to contribute to problem-solving
• Leverage funding, data and talent
• Efficiencies, given scarce
• resources
• Sophisticated state and interstate organizations
• Tribes, local governments, non-profit
  organizations
• Partnering with profit-making organizations a
  next step

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Risk-Informed Decision Making Communication

• Consequence analysis,
• especially risks to
• populations
• Forestall possible failure
• mechanisms
• Quantify communicate
• residual risk
• Ask which projects will
• fail to perform as
• designed, the likelihood
• of failure, and the consequences
• Recognize limits in disaster prediction
• Recognize limits in protection provided by
  structural means

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Adaptive Management

• Principle commonly used in ecosystem restoration
• Measure responses to interventions within systems
  to adjust planning, construction and operations
  in response to changing conditions.

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State-of-the Art Technology

• Research that improves
• resiliency of structures
• Updated design criteria
• Improved approaches to
• planning design
• Take advantage of
• advances in communication, information access,
  remote sensing, GISs nanotechnology
• Coastal River Information System

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Civil Works Program OverviewFY 00 - 13
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Major Construction Projects
(20 M or More in FY09 Budget)
36
Columbia River Channels
Upper Mississippi River Restoration
20
Emsworth Lock and Dam
90
NY / NJ Harbor
34
McCook and Thorton Reservior
26
29
24
Lockport Lock
41
Monongahela River Locks 2,3,4
Olmstead Lock and Dam
Sacramento River Banks
24
Tuttle Creek Lake
114
Clearwater Lake
57
Wolf Creek Dam
25
22
42
Center Hill Dam
Emsworth Lock and Dam
21
Canton Lake
42
Chickamauga Lock
Mississippi River Levees
20
45
Portugues and Bucana Rivers, PR
33
Mississippi River Channel and Revetments
New Orleans 5,761 M
Sims Bayou
23
Herbert Hoover Dike
22
77
Houston-Galveston Channels
South Florida Everglades
185
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A Picture of the Future .

• Stronger partnerships for collaborative problem
  solving
• A comprehensive strategy to inform and educate
• Smarter regional planning
• Advocacy for critical national water needs
• Joint efforts/resources to achieve common goals
• Life-cycle approach from holistic assessment
  through OM
• Risk-based management
• Resilient water infrastructure

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Questions ?
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American Recovery andReinvestment Act (ARRA) of
2009

• 4.6 BIL to USACE Civil Works
• Operations and Maintenance (OM) - 2.075
  BIL
• 400 maintenance projects ( 250,000 - 10
  MIL )
• Construction (C) - 2.0 BIL
• 300 construction contracts ( 1 MIL - 30 MIL
  )
• Mississippi River and Tributaries - 375
  MIL
• FUSRAP - 100 MIL
• Investigation - 25 MIL
• Regulatory - 25 MIL
• 8,000 direct jobs for every BIL expended
• 20,400 indirect jobs for every BIL expended in
  support/supply
• ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
  ??????????????????????????
• Unprecedented transparency and accountability

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ARRA Activity by State
(All Accounts, Millions)
76
NH 2
3
VT 1
10
60
116
101
24
43
19
16
19
18
6
0
191
8
106
31
26
41
314
11
382
16
29
3
62
5
227
40
119
18
91
DC 1
38
141
84
38
159
24
22
157
238
154
422
175
222
50
47
5
25
Major ARRA Construction
(20 Million or More)
Columbia River Fish Mitigation
Columbia River Treaty Fishing Access Sites
21
28
29
Garrison Dam/ Lake Sakakawwea
70
Lock Dam 3
99
Napa River
Monongahela R. Locks 2,3,4
Hamilton Airfield Wetlands Restor.
33
Raritan River
26
89
84
Lockport Lock
Lock Dam 27
36
27
45
Tuttle Creek Lake
Santa Maria Levees
40
Bluestone Lake
Miss. R. betw. Mo. Ohio Rs.
21
29
Kentucky Lock
35
Clearwater Lake
Santa Ana R.
27
58
Chickamauga Lock
36
Tres Rios
Texas City Channel
25
21
Gulfport Harbor
44
30
Rio de la Plata
Mobile Harbor
31
Sims Bayou
87
Flood Risk Management
Houston-Galveston Channels
91
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration
Florida Keys Water Quality Improvement
25