GAO Makes Recommendations for Enhancing Resilience of Flood Risk Management Infrastructure

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans and builds much of the nation’s flood risk management infrastructure — including levees, dams, and floodgates — that protect communities from coastal storms and floods.

With more frequent extreme weather events and rising sea levels associated with climate change putting the nation’s flood management infrastructure at risk, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review the climate resilience of the federally funded flood risk management infrastructure.

GAO reviewed Corps documents, interviewed Corps officials and 21 knowledgeable stakeholders, and used GAO’s Disaster Resilience Framework to evaluate the Corps’ efforts and potential options to further enhance the climate resilience of such infrastructure.

The results of the review were released earlier this year in a report, which concluded that the Corps has taken several important steps to enhance the climate resilience of flood risk management infrastructure, but that more could be done to limit the federal government’s fiscal exposure. The GAO identified 14 options that enhance the climate resilience of federally funded flood risk management infrastructure:

1. Create clear institutional authority to mainstream climate resilience.
2. Research the feasibility of innovative approaches.
3. Expand technical assistance for planning.
4. Update climate information for planning.
5. Update planning guidance.
6. Integrate climate resilience into project-level benefit cost analysis.
7. Expand the use of adaptive management in projects.
8. Update engineering standards and regulations.
9. Conduct climate screening assessment of authorized but unfunded projects.
10. Prioritize projects that incorporate climate resilience.
11. Update manuals for operation and maintenance.
12. Expand technical assistance to nonfederal sponsors for operations and maintenance.
13. Conduct climate vulnerability assessments of existing infrastructure.
14. Establish a process for retrofitting existing infrastructure to account for climate change.

Download Climate Change: Options to Enhance the Resilience of Federally Funded Flood Risk Management Infrastructure