LAKE JACKSON, Texas -- After the New Orleans levees failed during Hurricane Katrina, federal authorities started re-examining all levees in the country. What FEMA found was that some of the levees in the Houston area are outdated.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also calling for all levees in the U.S. to be upgraded. Some levees will have to be raised and the slopes made steeper. In addition, all trees on the levees have to be removed.

The changes will not come cheap. The Velasco Drainage District in Brazoria County estimates that it will cost about 4 million to make the upgrades.

Money, the drainage district does not have.

“No drainage system has that in their budget,” said the district's Chris Gallion.

If the changes aren't made, though, and the levees do not receive FEMA certification, communities within the levee systems would be declared flood zones.

That means higher insurance costs and less federal funding. While no deadline has been set, FEMA expects all levees in the country to be evaluated and possible recertified sometime next year.

That's a lot of territory along the 64-mile stretch of levees in Brazoria County.

“You feel more safe if you are not in a flood zone,” said Lake Jackson resident Michael Davis, whose home enjoys the protection of the levees. “Obviously you don't want to pay more, but we are going to have flood insurance no matter what.”