The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) seeks to safeguard inland and coastal communities from the harmful impacts of flooding and coastal storms by reducing vulnerabilities, enhancing resilience, and protecting lives, property, and natural resources through its flood risk management (FRM) and coastal storm risk management (CSRM) work. USACE FRM and CSRM activities involve building and maintaining structures like levees, dams, and sea walls, as well as implementing more natural and nature-based approaches such as wetland restoration, beach nourishment, and marsh creation. USACE also provides technical assistance and expertise to help communities develop floodplain or shoreline management plans and emergency response strategies.
 

FRM-CSRM is a primary mission of the USACE Civil Works program and encompasses programs and activities for reducing risks associated with inland flooding as well as water-related effects of coastal storms.​

The USACE FRM-CSRM business line manages the national USACE FRM-CSRM portfolio, including both inland and coastal activities. The FRM-CSRM business line works closely with all areas of the USACE FRM-CSRM community, bringing together program leaders from across the agency to coordinate, share ideas, and improve execution of the USACE FRM-CSRM mission. Through authorities and programs, Congress has directed USACE to plan, construct, operate, and maintain hundreds of FRM-CSRM projects. Each USACE project and program is unique, addressing specific national, regional, and local priorities and needs.

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Risks from flooding and coastal storms result from both the likelihood of natural or man-made water-related hazards and their potential consequences, including threats to human life and damage to homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure. The likelihood of flooding and coastal storm impacts is influenced by the performance of existing FRM or CSRM infrastructure against those hazards. Thus, there are three key components of flooding and coastal storm risk: hazards, performance, and consequences.

While FRM and CSRM structures provide some level of protection, they do not eliminate flood or coastal storm risk. Flooding or other water-related effects can still occur in surrounding communities and watersheds even with management measures (structural and non-structural) in place. These risks change over time and are influenced by external factors including climate change, aging infrastructure, and community growth. Communities should continually re-evaluate their flood and coastal storm risk and the effectiveness of the methods they have chosen to manage it.

Levee breach during flooding on the Platte River in Missouri.

Coastal flooding in the Great Lakes.

USACE FRM and CSRM efforts look at the potential risks in a particular area and are informed by previous or flood events or coastal storms. If FRM or CSRM structures exist, such as a dam, levee, or seawall, those structures’ performance is considered when determining the range of potential risks. In addition to considering the past, USACE looks to the future through modeling and forecasting possible storms – examining the likelihood, severity, and magnitude of flooding and storms. Assessing flooding and coastal storm risk helps communities better understand loss of life and property impacts that could result from potential flooding situations.

In an era of increasingly frequent and powerful flooding events and storms, FRM and CSRM projects are more important than ever. Flooding and coastal storms impact millions of people both directly (e.g., bodily harm, property damage) and indirectly (e.g., supply chain interruptions). FRM and CSRM activities help communities anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to flood events and coastal storms. To support community resilience, USACE helps partners reduce threats to life and property from flooding and coastal storms through a variety of FRM-CSRM services, including model, tool, and plan development.

USACE has a longstanding commitment to resilience, which is reflected in its approach to planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining FRM and CSRM projects. By integrating resilience throughout the CSRM and FRM project life cycle, USACE promotes sustainable development by ensuring long-term viability, proactively addressing hazards and vulnerabilities, and meeting the needs of future generations while supporting economic growth, environmental protection, and social well-being. USACE published the Resilience Integration in the USACE Flood Risk Management Mission Memorandum to provide additional direction on integrating resilience into FRM and CSRM programs and activities. This memo encourages resilience-focused thinking when discussing FRM- and CSRM-related community needs, in alignment with the USACE mission of reducing threats to life and property from flooding and coastal storms.

USACE follows four principles of resilience: Prepare, Absorb, Recover, and Adapt. Individually, each principle provides a framework for developing and incorporating targeted actions and measures into FRM and CSRM projects. Together, these principles span the project life cycle to build and maintain resilience. Many USACE FRM and CSRM projects demonstrate these principles. Explore FRM and CSRM resilience efforts (Prepare, Absorb, Recover, Adapt) to learn more about each principle and how USACE is actively applying them to current projects.

• Prepare 
• Absorb
• Recover 
• Adapt

Dune vegetation is one example of natural   and nature-based features.

Resilience offers a way to reduce negative consequences from floods and coastal storms, and USACE helps communities reduce risk through its relevant programs and authorities. USACE’s FRM and CSRM projects usually combine several approaches, which may include structural and nonstructural measures along with natural and nature-based solutions. Incorporating natural and nature-based measures promotes resilience by encouraging economic, environmental, and social benefits. Selecting and implementing the best suite of FRM and CSRM approaches to promote community resilience requires a collaborative effort across government agencies, industry, and public/private partnerships. USACE is committed to working with community and interagency partners and integrating public-private partnerships into its business processes, when feasible.

USACE joined congressional representatives and federal, state and local partner agencies, for a ceremonial groundbreaking at Folsom Lake, California, where USACE will construct the Folsom Dam Raise project to help further reduce flood risk in the Greater Sacramento region. (January 2020)

USACE FRM and CSRM activities are grounded in partnerships with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies, as well as the private sector and other stakeholders. Several partnering opportunities help local communities, state agencies, and tribes work with USACE to design, construct, operate, and maintain projects that manage coastal storm and flood risk across the   nation.

FRM and CSRM are most successful when viewed as a shared responsibility. There is no single public or private agency or organization that can manage flood or coastal storm risk on its own. USACE fosters collaboration and coordination among diverse community interests, facilitating shared responsibility through enhanced understanding and cooperative governance.

USACE is dedicated to exploring the intersection of environmental justice with FRM and CSRM, identifying conditions and factors that make some people and natural systems more vulnerable to flooding than others. It is important that disadvantaged communities do not bear disproportionate impacts through federal planning and decision-making, consistent with the goals and objectives of administration and agency policies. USACE works to meet the needs of disadvantaged communities by reducing disparate environmental burdens, removing barriers to participation in decision-making, and increasing access to benefits provided by Civil Works programs.

USACE has mitigated flood impacts on coastal and inland communities for nearly 100 years. Flood and coastal storm risk cannot be eliminated, but certain actions can reduce communities’ vulnerability when facing flood risks.

In addition to planning, designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining a suite of congressionally authorized FRM and CSRM projects, the USACE FRM-CSRM business line supports over 40 programs and activities, including Technical Assistance programs, Dam Safety and Levee Safety programs, and Research and Development. While each program has specific objectives, they all operate within a unified framework to execute the FRM-CSRM business line with a consistent approach. The success of USACE FRM and CSRM efforts is directly correlated with involvement of the affected communities and key stakeholders.

The USACE FRM and CSRM community focuses on creating synergies across the USACE landscape, working closely to leverage resources and benefit from each other’s knowledge and skill sets. This internal coordination has established three FRM-CSRM Priority Areas that emphasize opportunities to advance FRM and CSRM activities across Civil Works and throughout the USACE project life cycle. Aligning USACE FRM and CSRM work with these three categories is a meaningful way to advocate for and support initiatives across the FRM-CSRM landscape, ultimately providing greater value to the nation. The FRM-CSRM Priority Areas allow the FRM-CSRM business line to thoughtfully communicate progress in a unified way and demonstrate successes across the full portfolio of USACE FRM and CSRM projects.

In fiscal year 2023, USACE inland FRM projects delivered an estimated $104.5 billion in benefits. The 10-year average for FRM benefits was an estimated $202.4 billion annually during the period 2014-2023. This reflects $15 in flood damage reduction benefits for every $1 in federal funds invested in USACE. National economic benefits are estimated by calculating the annual flood damages that USACE FRM projects prevent. These estimates are based on weather conditions for a given year, and, as flooding varies from year to year, some years may demonstrate greater benefits than others.

Current coastal flood risk, including sea level change effects, shifting weather patterns, the intensity and duration of storms, damages from combined coastal storms and flooding, loss of sea ice, and other associated impacts, are driving concerns about the ability of coastal communities to recover from near-term events and adapt for long-term sustainability. USACE receives annual appropriations and supplemental funding to partner on numerous programs and projects designed to help protect the economy and environment of coastal areas by reducing the impact of these threats.