Flood protection levees are barriers that holds water away from property. It can protect your property from flooding as well as from the force of water, scour at the foundation and impacts of floating debris.

A properly built levee takes a lot of space. Its sheer mass keeps it from moving. Long, gentle side slopes increase stability and provide for easier maintenance. A typical levee 3 feet high should be 21 feet wide. If the inner edge is 4 feet from the building, its outer edge will be 25 feet from the building.

• Where the property line is too close to allow an adequate levee, a partial floodwall or other floodproofing system can be used and tied in with a partial levee.
• For a given height of flood protection, a permanent earthen levee is about half the cost of a floodwall and slightly more than a commercial water-inflatable dam.
• It is easier to increase your flood protection level with a levee than with other permanent systems. When built with a broad, well-compacted base, levees can be topped with sandbags or water-inflated dams.
• To keep the permanent levee at a low or variable height, you may choose to design the system to protect against frequent, low-level floods and design it to be topped with temporary barriers for the less frequent, higher floods.
• If the depth of flood risk increases in the future, a well-founded levee can be topped with a permanent floodwall or additional fill. Neighbors often view levees as aggravating their own flood situations. Protecting the area right around a building may be less objectionable than excluding water from your entire lot.