Delaware Estuary Levee Organization

Is New Jersey protected from a storm like Katrina? Evidence suggests not. Because it borders the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware River, southern New Jersey is especially vulnerable to flooding and storm surges. Low lying areas along the Delaware Bay are protected by a little-known system of more than 35 earthen levees and tide gates originally constructed during Colonial times. This ancient flood control infrastructure is crumbling, and responsibility for maintenance is fragmented and uncoordinated.

DELO’s mission is to identify, update, & ensure maint-enance for 35+ levees located throughout South Jersey.

SJRCD Levee Inventory Info Sheet

FEMA Fact Sheet for Levee Systems

Levee Safety Testimony before the
US House of Representatives - May 2009

November 16, 2009 — Coordination Meeting
NJDEP & NRCS on the South Jersey Levee Inventory

John Moyle, Bureau of Dam Safety and Flood Control, has been elected to be the national head of the American Society of Dam Safety Officials (ASDO) for 2010. During this productive meeting, John shared a new publication called "So, You Live Behind a Levee!" The publication was created to answer such questions by individuals and communities to better protect themselves from future flood threats. It was written for both the engineering and non-engineering public. It covers issues such as flood size and risk, signs of trouble, ways to reduce risk, and how to prepare for and respond to emergencies. Questions answered include:

Most people know that levees are built near rivers and lakes to reduce flooding risk, but what does it mean to live behind one?
Are your home and loved ones safe from floods?
How much protection does the levee really provide?
What do you need to know to be safe?

Protecting South Jersey from flooding should be a public priority! Lives, livelihoods, property and industries are at stake. Too bad that the region lacks a clear mandate to maintain or improve its levees. In response, SJRC&D catalyzed and helped organize the Delaware Estuary Levee Organization -- DELO -- a group of concerned citizens and public officials.

DELO’s mission is to identify, update, and ensure maintenance for the 35+ levees located throughout South Jersey. Recently, the Counties of Camden, Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland received a FEMA grant to perform a regional, multi-jurisdictional “all-hazards” mitigation plan. This plan must be completed in a year.

The multi-jurisdictional “all-hazards” mitigation plans (one each for the respective counties) are in final draft. These drafts have undergone NJOEM review and those comments are included in the revisions that will be sent to FEMA by the end of January 2009. Minor edits are anticipated to be required by FEMA, but the plan notation will most likely be: "Approved pending adoption." This is FEMA terminology meaning the plan has met their requirements, but must still be adopted by local authorities to be considered valid.

All four draft plans may be viewed here.

The Inventory will identify and characterize the location, extent and characteristics of existing levees/dikes in South Jersey and the amount, type and extent of vulnerability of people and property protected by these levees including agricultural acreages and businesses. Municipal officials, County Engineers, County Planners, County Mosquito Commissions, Soil Conservation Districts, and Agricultural Agents are being contacted to help identify local levee systems.

The levee inventory utilizes Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology as well as in-the-field examination of the levees. The Corps of Engineer’s National Levee Inventory criteria for the characteristics of the levees is being used.

Anticipated completion date for the Inventory is April 2010.

For further information on the Inventory contact Greg Westfall, Water Resource Planner, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, at 732-537-6054 or gregory.westfall@nj.usda.gov.