SPECIAL ISSUE :SPECIAL INFRASTRUCTURE Challenges for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Water Resources Infrastructure Portfolio U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portfolio Over the past century, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has built a vast ne twork of wa t e r management infrastructure that includes approximately 715 dams, more than 14,000 mi (22,530 km) of levees, 240 lock chambers, over 12,000 mi (19,300 km) of river navigation channels and control structures, harbors and ports and other facilities. Since the mid-1980s, federal funding for new project construction and major rehabilitation has declined steadily. As a result, much of the nation’s water resources infrastructure is now deteriorating and wearing out faster than it is being replaced. Historically, the construction of new infrastructure dominated the USACE water resources budget and activities. Today, national water needs and priorities are increasingly shifting to operations. The USACE has been serving as the U.S. Army’s engineer for 243 years. It has approximately 35,000 employees working in 43 district offices and 9 divisions in the U.S. and in more than 100 countries around the world. The USACE’s first mission area was to help ensure navigability on the nation’s rivers. In the 1920s and 1930s, the mission areas broadened to include flood control. Over the years, mission areas have further diversified to include responsibilities for ecosystem restoration, hydropower AUTHOR David B. Paul, P.E., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JULY/AUG 2018 • 89 generation, port and harbor maintenance, water supply, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and recreation. Each of these missions differs significantly in terms of enabling legislation, taxation and revenue sources, clients, and relations with the private sector. Its distinctive and diverse water infrastructure, specific roles in the national economy, and clientele and history make USACE a unique organization. Many potential solutions to operation, maintenance and rehabilitation challenges are, therefore, specific to USACE. USACE divisions and districts Funding for USACE water resources infrastructure comes primarily from the federal government, in the form of annual appropriations for operation, maintenance and minor rehabilitation, and periodic legislation for new construction under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The first WRDA was in 1974, and there have been nine subsequent WRDA bills. Currently, the WRDA 2018 bill is being debated in Congress. USACE, the executive branch and the U.S. Congress all play important and distinct roles in the FEATURE ARTICLE
