Could Your Community Benefit from FEMA’s New High Hazard Potential Dam Rehabilitation Grant Program?

If yours is among the many locations across America where dams exist, the answer is a resounding yes. There are now 90,000 dams nationwide, and a high number of them have received less than favorable Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC) ratings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Even more distressing, of those 90,000 dams, the federal government believes about 15,000 of them are classified as having high hazard potential (HPP). That means that failure could result in significant destruction of property, or worse, loss of life.

Fortunately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was appropriated $10 million to implement the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams (HHPD) Grant Program. For FY2019, the HHPD will provide assistance for planning and other pre-construction activities. Such money can go a long way toward improving your community’s emergency preparedness and resilience.

The HHPD Grant Program, authorized under the recently funded