The Value Added to Flood Control Projects by Use of External Review Panels

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, the USACE formed the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) to study the levee system in the New Orleans area. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) also formed a review group, the External Review Panel, to review work performed and reported by IPET. Both the IPET and the ASCE panel stated that they believed many of the major deficiencies in the levee system could have been avoided by a high-level review of the design and plans by a group of external experts. The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) also obtained an outside review board of experts called the Board of Senior Consultants (BOSC) to independently review current flood control designs and plans and specifications within their area expertise for the Natomas Levee Improvement Project. The BOSC, comprised of the authors of this paper, has been reviewing this work for approximately two years and has been meeting periodically with the design teams and the client. During these reviews and meetings, the board has discovered several areas where sufficient engineering and/or geotechnical investigations had not been conducted. The reviews also found other areas where over-engineering criteria had been specified. With thoughtful modifications to these criteria, project costs were reduced without reducing public safety. This paper discusses the mandates that resulted in Independent External Technical Review (IETR) panels, the objectives of a panel, how a panel functions, and the value that an IETR brings to the project. A discussion is also added on the lessons learned by the BOSC review board that made the SACFA project a more efficient project as well as improved public safety.