levee
Defined in 3 dictionaries — U.S. Code, Black's (1910), Anderson (1889)
United States Code
33 U.S.C. § 3301 — in this chapter (2 versions over time)
The term “levee” means a manmade barrier (such as an embankment, floodwall, or other structure)—
(i) the primary purpose of which is to provide hurricane, storm, or flood protection relating to seasonal high water, storm surges, precipitation, or other weather events; and
(ii) that is normally subject to water loading for only a few days or weeks during a calendar year.
33 U.S.C. § 3301 — in this chapter
The term “levee” includes a levee system, including—
(i) levees and canal structures that—
(I) constrain water flows;
(II) are subject to more frequent water loading; and
(III) do not constitute a barrier across a watercourse; and
(ii) roadway and railroad embankments, but only to the extent that the embankments are integral to the performance of a flood damage reduction system.
Black's Law Dictionary
Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
An embankment or artificial mound of earth constructed uiong the margin of a river, to confine the stream to its natural channel or prevent inundation or overflow. State v. New Orleans & N. E. R. Co., 42 La. Ann. 138, 7 South. 226; Royse v. Evansville & T. H. R. Co., 160 Ind. 592, 67 N. E. 446. Also iprobably by an extension of the foregoing meaning) a landing place on a river or lake; a place on a river or other navigable water for lading and unlading goods and for the reception and discharge of passengers to and from vessels lying in the contiguous waters, which may be either a wharf or pier or the natural bank. See Coffin v. Portland (C. Ct) 27 Fed. 415 ; St. Paul v. Railroad Co., 63 Minn. 330, 68 N. W. 458, 34 In R. A. 184; Napa v. Howland, 87 Cal. 84, 25 Pac. 247.
— Levee district. A municipal subdivision of a state (which may or may not be a public corporation) organized for the purpose, and charged with the duty, of constructing and maintaining such levees within its territorial limits as are to be built and kept up at public expense and for the general public benefit. See People v. Levee Dist. No. 6, 131 Cal. 30, 63 Pac. 676.
A Dictionary of Law
William C. Anderson · 1889
An emb'ankment intended to prevent inundation. A State, in the exercise of police powers, ha5 the exclusive right to determine the propriety, location, and mode of building levees within her borders. After she has so decided, and contracted for the enterprise, a person, on whose land the levee is to be built, cannot require that it be constructed differently; and, in case of non-compliance with his demand, he cannot hold the State liable for compensation for the property taken or for any injury sustained.^ See Compensation, 3.