A Survey of Corrosion and Conditions of Corrosion Protection Systems in Civil Works Structures of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) maintains thousands of hydraulic steel structures (HSS) throughout its 45 districts. Many of these structures suffer from the adverse effects of corrosion. Efforts to minimize the presence of corrosion by using corrosion protection systems have yielded a range of results. Regular inspection, reporting, monitoring, and maintenance are crucial elements of the corrosion protection systems that will allow continued safe use of HSS. Many of the Corps’ HSS are aged beyond their designed lifespan. The replacement cost of these structures is imaginably quite expensive and considering the current fiscal constraints, there is little promise for their replacement in the near future. Compounding the problem is that only the bare minimum expenditure for maintenance of these structures is allotted each year for their continued operation (and sometimes not even that much). This report provides the findings of a survey undertaken by personnel from the Engineer Research and Development Center–Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) to document the condition of HSS within select Corps districts, their current corrosion protection systems, the degree to which corrosion monitoring and protection is taking place, and other issues pertaining to corrosion detection and prevention. The districts that are represented in this report are those districts who responded to requests for phone conferences to discuss relevant matters. The lack of full participation by all districts makes this report only a small snapshot of all potential problems affecting the Corps’ HSS, but the report does offer relevant insight into the items that have been addressed.