Levees.org just obtained new data showing that the number of Americans protected by levees has increased compared to a decade ago.
Sixty-two percent of the American population lives in counties with levees. A decade ago, the percentage was 55%.
Levees.org filed a request under FOIA for the data on May 12, 2019 and just received it on July 29, 2020, over fourteen months later.
According to FEMA, the increase is likely due to several factors, including expansion of existing levees and construction of new levees; more people moving to locations protected by levees; and a better accounting of where flood-risk-reduction levees are located.
Levees.org offered this data and its statistic results to the The Advocate. Reporters Mark Schleifstein and Jeff Adelson have done a good story. See it here.
This looks more like a map of cities and towns where a dam of some sort exists. I see the entirety of Barnstable County Massachusetts and all non-desert and some desert area in California is shaded. There is virtually zero inhabited area in Barnstable County that is protected by a stricture that is typically identified as a levee. To count an entire county’s population when there is, perhaps a small dam or several small dams is not appropriate. I think it hurts your mission to have misleading information on your site.
Thank you for your comment. This data comes from FEMA. I am happy to send you the raw data.