Delphine
01-22-2007, 10:26 PM
Some of you may have heard that there are levees, designed and constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers, in many parts of the country. I've tried to find a list of Corps projects. Unable to find one, here is part of an article from the "Los Angeles Times" published on December 31, 2006.
Most of you are probably aware that the Corps admitted publicly last June that it was responsible for the flooding that overwhelmed the New Orleans area when Hurricane Katrina struck. New Orleans has much to learn; but New Orleanians never want any other community to suffer as they did.
"The Corps' analysis (of what caused the levee failure) will play a major role in determining the city's future — including whether more than 200,000 former residents could rebuild abandoned neighborhoods and whether insurers can provide coverage at an affordable rate.
The stakes are high, not only for the integrity of the levees around New Orleans but for similar levees that protect millions of Americans who live along vulnerable coastlines and rivers across the nation. Many were built on the same mucky foundations and with the same flawed engineering assumptions as the notorious failed 17th Street levee in New Orleans.
The suspect levees stretch from Florida's Lake Okeechobee to the rivers of California's Central Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which has 2,300 miles of levees that protect cities and farmland.
The Corps' investigation is essential to understanding California's situation, said Les Harter, the levee chief at the California Department of Water Resources.
"The floodwalls in New Orleans were 15 years old, and they failed," Harter said. "Our levees are 100 years old. We estimate we have one-half the level of protection that New Orleans had."
The Corps is about six months behind schedule in issuing an all-important "risk analysis," a massive body of work that is intended to tell the public how likely New Orleans is to flood again from a big hurricane."
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I have learned that the Corps of Engineers is almost like any other part of our government seems to be; almost untouchable. It also is involved in much of the "pork" that seems to run rampid in Washinton.
If you live near Corps-constructed levees, you might take a look at the history of the the design and construction.
One of the other things I was interested in was what other projects the Corps was involved in...dams, for instance.
The people of Southeast Louisiana were grossly misled. Learn from what happened....information is the best preparation you can have.
Most of you are probably aware that the Corps admitted publicly last June that it was responsible for the flooding that overwhelmed the New Orleans area when Hurricane Katrina struck. New Orleans has much to learn; but New Orleanians never want any other community to suffer as they did.
"The Corps' analysis (of what caused the levee failure) will play a major role in determining the city's future — including whether more than 200,000 former residents could rebuild abandoned neighborhoods and whether insurers can provide coverage at an affordable rate.
The stakes are high, not only for the integrity of the levees around New Orleans but for similar levees that protect millions of Americans who live along vulnerable coastlines and rivers across the nation. Many were built on the same mucky foundations and with the same flawed engineering assumptions as the notorious failed 17th Street levee in New Orleans.
The suspect levees stretch from Florida's Lake Okeechobee to the rivers of California's Central Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which has 2,300 miles of levees that protect cities and farmland.
The Corps' investigation is essential to understanding California's situation, said Les Harter, the levee chief at the California Department of Water Resources.
"The floodwalls in New Orleans were 15 years old, and they failed," Harter said. "Our levees are 100 years old. We estimate we have one-half the level of protection that New Orleans had."
The Corps is about six months behind schedule in issuing an all-important "risk analysis," a massive body of work that is intended to tell the public how likely New Orleans is to flood again from a big hurricane."
_________________________________________________
I have learned that the Corps of Engineers is almost like any other part of our government seems to be; almost untouchable. It also is involved in much of the "pork" that seems to run rampid in Washinton.
If you live near Corps-constructed levees, you might take a look at the history of the the design and construction.
One of the other things I was interested in was what other projects the Corps was involved in...dams, for instance.
The people of Southeast Louisiana were grossly misled. Learn from what happened....information is the best preparation you can have.