Briaud, J., Chen, H., Govindasamy, A., Storesund, R. (2008). Levee erosion by overtopping in New Orleans during the Katrina Hurricane. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. 134 (5): 618–632. The App­ealing River Landscape - Green Rivers." Royal Haskoning. (Aug. 1, 2008) http://www.royalhaskoning.com/Royal_Haskoning/water_and_environment/ en-GB/Projects/Spatial/The+Appealing+River+Landscape+-+Green+Rivers.htm?ref=1 The ceremonies were abbreviated when the king was at Marly or one of his other occasional retreats, providing a sense of intimacy that was only comparative, but engendering struggles among courtiers to be invited on such occasions, precisely the kind of competition Louis fostered. Artificial levees can lead to an elevation of the natural riverbed over time; whether this happens or not and how fast, depends on different factors, one of them being the amount and type of the bed load of a river. Alluvial rivers with intense accumulations of sediment tend to this behavior. Examples of rivers where artificial levees led to an elevation of the riverbed, even up to a point where the riverbed is higher than the adjacent ground surface behind the levees, are found for the Yellow River in China and the Mississippi in the United States.

Indus River Valley Civilizations". History-world.org. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012 . Retrieved 12 September 2008. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL ( link)If aggradation continues to occur in the main channel, this will make levee overtopping more likely again, and the levees can continue to build up. In some cases, this can result in the channel bed eventually rising above the surrounding floodplains, penned in only by the levees around it; an example is the Yellow River in China near the sea, where oceangoing ships appear to sail high above the plain on the elevated river. [21] In parts of Britain, particularly Scotland and Northern England, a dyke may be a field wall, generally made with dry stone.

The method of construction must also be considered when designing a levee. A levee may be built using no compaction to carefully controlled compaction, with steep slopes or relatively flat slopes. Levee maintenance is also a factor that must be weighed as part of the long-term viability of the project. River flood prevention [ edit ] Broken levee on the Sacramento River A levee keeps high water on the Mississippi River from flooding Gretna, Louisiana, in March 2005. Insufficient funds: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the design and construction of levees, had been hit by budget cuts. This left the agency with fewer experienced engineers. The modern word dike or dyke most likely derives from the Dutch word dijk, with the construction of dikes well attested as early as the 11th century. The 126-kilometer-long (78mi) Westfriese Omringdijk, completed by 1250, was formed by connecting existing older dikes. The Roman chronicler Tacitus mentions that the rebellious Batavi pierced dikes to flood their land and to protect their retreat (70 CE). [9] The word dijk originally indicated both the trench and the bank. It closely parallels the English verb to dig. [10]United States of Shame," by Maureen Dowd, The New York Times, September 3, 2005 [accessed August 12, 2016]

In emergencies, temporary levees can be made of sandbags. These soak up the water and usually prevent excess water from seeping past the sand. Thinking long term: While the 1965 team of engineers in New Orleans tried to build levees strong enough to withstand the strongest possible storm in 200 years, Dutch engineers designed a system strong enough to match the kind of catastrophic storm that only occurs once in 10,000 years. Poor maintenance: Levees require constant upkeep. As the land in New Orleans sinks, so do the levees. Investigators also suspect that large trees growing nearby undermined the levees.Levée ceremonies were held by regal representatives of the British Empire, such as the Viceroy of India, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, governors general and state/provincial governors/ lieutenant governors. [10] The ceremonial event continues to be held in a number of Commonwealth countries. The New Year's levee is still held on New Year's Day in Canada, by the Governor General of Canada, the lieutenant governors, the Canadian Armed Forces, and various municipalities across the country.