The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card is published every four years. The most recent Infrastructure Report Card was released in 2017. It gave America’s infrastructure a grade of D+.

The report card highlighted the urgent need for infrastructure improvement for aviation, bridges, dams, drinking water, schools, solid waste, transit, and wastewater.

Dams and levees received a D grade. Dams create reservoirs for water supply and protect local communities from floods. They also provide renewable energy. Levees reduce the risk from devastating flooding events. However, nearly 17% of America’s dams are considered high hazard potential; the dams failure would likely cause a loss of life and significant economic losses.