Investigation Into Overtopping Mitigation Strategies | W81EWF 24 SOI 0038

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0038

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is offering a discretionary cooperative agreement to support research on how to reduce the risk of levee and floodwall failures caused by overtopping. The focus is on understanding why overtopping sometimes leads to breach in common U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) embankment and floodwall designs, and on developing and testing practical mitigation measures that can be applied to flood risk management infrastructure. The work is positioned as applied research and development, aimed at producing usable data, improved predictive tools, and design recommendations that can strengthen real-world performance during extreme high-water events.

A major part of the effort is investigative and diagnostic. The selected partner is expected to assess the factors that contribute to overtopping breach and identify the key failure mechanisms across different levee and floodwall types found in the USACE inventory. This includes reviewing how performance is currently predicted using numerical modeling, identifying gaps or limitations in those models, and evaluating how well current methods represent breach processes under overtopping conditions. ERDC also anticipates the collection and organization of overtopping case histories, meaning documented real events that can be used to benchmark and validate analytical and numerical approaches, and to better connect modeling assumptions with observed outcomes.

Another core component is a comprehensive look at mitigation strategies currently used in practice. The project is expected to document and compare the present state of practice for preventing or reducing overtopping-induced breach for levees and floodwalls, including both USACE approaches and relevant international methods. Beyond cataloging established practices, the work should also scan for emerging technologies that could be adapted or matured for this purpose, with the intent of identifying promising concepts that may not yet be common in standard flood control designs but could offer measurable improvements in resilience.

The opportunity also emphasizes experimentation, both in the lab and through physical testing. On the laboratory side, the research should examine ways to improve embankment and floodwall foundation soil performance during overtopping, including investigating soil behavior under saturated and unsaturated conditions where appropriate. This points to studying erosion resistance, strength and stiffness changes, seepage effects, and other soil mechanics considerations that influence how quickly a structure degrades when overtopped. On the physical testing side, ERDC expects tests that directly assess and compare different mitigation strategies under overtopping conditions, with the goal of generating quantifiable, design-relevant results. The outputs should include defensible design recommendations and datasets suitable for validating numerical models, helping close the loop between theory, simulation, and observed physical performance.

A final technical thrust is improving predictive modeling itself. The project is expected to investigate and develop numerical methodologies that increase the reliability of levee and floodwall performance predictions during overtopping. This includes identifying advanced modeling approaches, clarifying the situations where they provide meaningful improvements over standard methods, and explicitly characterizing uncertainty in both standard and advanced approaches. In practical terms, ERDC is looking for better tools to support risk-informed decisions, clearer understanding of model limits, and more credible prediction of breach initiation and progression under overtopping loads.

Administratively, this is a single anticipated award with an award ceiling of $400,000, and it is run under Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 24 SOI 0038. The original closing date is listed as 2024-08-27. The activity category is science and technology and other research and development, and the CFDA number is 12.630. Eligibility is restricted: only non-federal partners of the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) may apply, so applicants must confirm they are part of that eligible partner network. The notice also highlights compliance expectations related to disclosures of current and pending support; incomplete or problematic disclosures can make an applicant ineligible, and ERDC may request updates before award and throughout the performance period, with the possibility of funding discontinuation if issues arise. It also states that religious organizations may compete on the same basis as secular organizations for federal financial assistance, consistent with Executive Order 13798.

• The Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Investigation Into Overtopping Mitigation Strategies" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-27. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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