Chapter 8 › V.B Water Control Facilities (Category D)

Will FEMA repair levees, channels, basins and other water control facilities?

FEMA term

Category D: Water control facilities

Short answer

Yes, for eligible non-federal facilities such as dams, levees, engineered channels, canals, basins, pumping facilities and shoreline protection. Restoring the capacity of channels, basins and reservoirs requires proof of pre-disaster capacity and regular maintenance.

What FEMA requires

Capacity restoration is eligible only for facilities not built by a federal agency, with documented pre-disaster capacity and a regular maintenance schedule. Complaint-driven clean-outs don’t prove regular maintenance.
Removing material not deposited by the incident turns the project into an improved project.
Flood control works under another federal agency’s authority are ineligible.
Secondary levees on the river side of a primary levee are ineligible unless they protect human life.

Documentation

Pre-disaster capacity data, such as recent or multi-year surveys, and a written maintenance plan or activity logs. Source: PAPPG Table 28.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Survey your channels and basins on a schedule. A current baseline turns a capacity claim from a dispute into a calculation.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.