Tests confirm levee sheet pilings only driven about 1/2 as far as recommed

[Ian David]

Tests confirm levee sheet pilings only driven about half as far as recommended

06:43 PM CST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Brett Martel / Associated Press

Government engineers performing sonar tests at the site of a major levee failure found exactly what independent investigators said they would -- that steel reinforcements barely went more than half as deep as they were supposed to, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official said Wednesday.

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The documents indicated that the steel reinforcements in the levee, known as sheet piling, went down to a depth of 17.5 feet below sea level. Sonar tests indicated the pilings went only to 10 feet below sea level, meaning the flood wall would have been much weaker than advertised.

The LSU team is working on a report for the state Department of Transportation -- due out in January -- that will say that there were serious, fundamental design and construction flaws at both the 17th Street and London Avenue canals. Both broke during Hurricane Katrina, allowing flood waters to pour into the city's western and central neighborhoods and encroach on downtown.

<snip>

Engineering studies prior to construction of the flood wall were performed by Eustis Engineering, Modjeski and Masters Inc. and the Corps. Members of van Heerden's team have expressed shock that all three could have missed what they characterized as fundamental flaws. Calls put in to Eustis and Modjeski and Masters were not returned Wednesday. However, van Heerden said the federal government bears ultimate responsibility.

"The federal government built the levees, the federal government supplied that security, the security system failed, as a consequence these 100,000 families have lost everything," van Heerden said. "In our opinion, the federal government needs to step up to the plate."

More:
http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/WWL113005tests.26f96425.html

[Swamp Rat]

1. Bill Mahr said they found Halliburton barges in the 17th street canal.

I have been looking for verification concerning this. Let me know if you come across any info, please.

The Federal Government also CUT our budget for levee protection by 44% on June 8th 2004 (I know this through folks in my university dept whom work specifically on this topic), and I also read somewhere (too tired to remember) that Halliburton had a contract to rebuild New Orleans WAY BEFORE the storm hit... on top of all this, eminent domain laws were also changed right before hurricane season, though that may be for more reasons than one concerning NOLA.

[xultar]

2. More proof someone wanted the black area to flood

[RepublicanElephant]

3. this, from the u.s. marines...

NEW ORLEANS (Sept. 9, 2005) - A broken levee near New Orleans' Ninth Ward District caused a torrent of water to crash into surrounding communities. Floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina sent a loose river barge careening into the levee, sending a tidal wave of water into most of the eastern part of the city.
http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/lookup/2005912115722?opendocument