Midwest Levees and Rivers Technical Exchange 2014

ST. LOUIS - Sept. 30, 2014 - PRLog -- “Celebrating Our Rivers” will be the theme for this year's Midwest Levees and River Technical Exchange to be held October 27 - 29 in St. Louis. MO. The Exchange, which takes place every other year, raises awareness of levees and flood risks.

Issues affecting levees and rivers that will be addressed at the conference will include the following:
·          Programs and Policies
·          Repair and Rehabilitation
·          Engineering and Design
·          Navigation and Environmental Concerns

With participation from members of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, FEMA, local levee districts and the private sector, this is a “must attend” event for those involved in flood risk management "as we strive to work in partnership to make risk-informed decisions," said Marsia Geldert-Murphey, ASCE Chair of Public Policy Committeeand President/CEO of Sequoia Engineering & Environmental, Inc.

This year's event will be held at Chase Park Plaza, 212-232 N. Kingshighway Blvd in St. Louis. The Midwest Levee Conference was first held in 2008 in the wake of levee failures in New Orleans, coupled with the subsequent announcement of changes in national flood insurance policy.

The Conference is organized by the members of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) St. Louis Post, in partnership with American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) St. Louis Section. The Exchange is held every other year to raise awareness of levees and flood risks.

More than 1,000 engineers, geologists, scientists, flood plain specialists, river modelers and water resource professionals have attended this event, which has become well known for its high quality technical programming and professional networking events. Past exchanges included technical programming on asset management, sustainability, flood risk management policy, guidance, contingency operations, design & construction, acquisition and environmental management.

The theme “Celebrating Our Rivers,” honors the City of St. Louis’s 250th anniversary and the ASCE St. Louis Section’s 100th anniversary. The city of St. Louis was developed along the western bank of the Mississippi River, which forms Missouri's eastern border with Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. St. Louis's location contributed to its growth as the fourth-largest U.S. city in the late 19th century. Our rivers are majestic, they are a means of transportation, they provide entertainment, they are an energy source, an economic engine and are critical to our environment. Our rivers challenge us as we strive to work with them for the benefit of all. To follow the theme of “Celebrating our Rivers,” navigation and environmental concerns have been added to the programming.

In addition to SAME, St. Louis Post and ASCE St. Louis Section, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO), United States Society on Dams (USSD), Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) are sponsoring organizations and contributors to the technical programming content.

The following comments are representative of previous conferences:

“The technical presentations were excellent. I appreciated hearing about some of the changes and updates that are coming from the Corps.”

“A wide variety of topics were covered in the break-out sessions, and the concept of breaking those sessions out into tracks which made it very easy to search for topics of interest.”

“The Midwest Levee Conference was well conceived and covered material that was not being presented in other conferences.”

“It was well planned and carried out.”

“Conference was well above average. Stayed for the entire conference as good sessions throughout.”

“Excellent mix of technical sessions and networking opportunities.”

For more information and to register, go to http://www.MeetMeInStLouis2014.com to register.