Levee Levee A levee (), dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines. Speakers of American English (notably in the Midwest and Deep South), use the word "levee", from the French word "levée" (from the feminine past participle of the French verb "lever", "to raise"). It originated in New Orleans a few years after the city's founding in 1718 and was later adopted by English speakers. The
River Usk Newport at Newport Wetlands. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal follows the Usk for most of the length of the canal. The name of the river derives from a Common Brittonic word meaning "abounding in fish" (or possibly "water"), this root also appears in other British river names such as Exe, Axe, Esk and other variants. The name is cognate with "pysg" (plural of "pysgod"), the Welsh word for fish, borrowed from Latin "piscis". The name of the river appears as "Wÿsk" on the Cambriae Typus map of 1573. The whole river has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.