[StBernard] levees

[Westley Annis]

With regards to Wendy's comments about levees failing.

Many experts, including an impartial panel of experts called IPET for short,
identified the various failures.

Levee overtopping, meaning if the levees would have been a foot or two less
than than the water surge, would have put a few feet of water in St.
Bernard. However, the wall of water was so high, it scoured the unarmored
levees and eroded them such that a gaping hole began and continued to
un-ravel. The levee design in St. Bernard Parish was adequate (the soil
material was good and it was correctly built unlike the canal levees in
Orleans). The problem was not all areas were being funded regularly to keep
them maintained to the max. authorized height as per the Congressional
mandate after Betsy that we were told we deserved. They were too low due to
settlement, due to changes in the National Weather Service's definition of
the storm that Congress intended the protection be provided but the design
height was never upgraded, due to the change in the elevation levels
published by the Natonal Geodetic Service that was not used when made
available, etc. 

Today, we are told that the correct elevation datum, called benchmarks, are
being used; that most, but not all of the MRGO levees are raised higher than
the pre-Katrina level so that when they settle they are the right min.
height, and the true criteria for the storm we will be protected against
(eventually) will be used in the future. 

Despite Donald Powell's assertion on WWL TV and the editorial in the TP on
April 9 that states, "Corps officials said last week at the National
Hurricane Conference in New Orleans that the region's levees and floodwalls
are stronger than they were a year ago," it is simply not true.

All levees and floodwalls are not strong-many walls on the IHNC that didn't
fall over may be on the verge of tipping over with the next wave of water;
the levee west of the Bayou Bienvenue floodgate is not up to El. 17 feet as
it should be; no armouring has been done to any MRGO levees to protect
against scouring again; and the Caenarvon to Verret levee is woefully lower
than it should be. This situation is not what the public is being told by
people such as Donald Powell and whomever spoke for the COE at the Hurricane
Conference. 

The limited pool of money available for bringing flood control to at least
the pre-Katrina height and condition is not being spent on these items for
St. Bernard and the lower 9th ward because it is going to other priorities
in the "region". We are told to wait until the 100 year improvements are
built. Do the math. We are at best less than 20,000 people. Other than the
refineries, we have no economic significance according to some.  The cost to
give these 20,000 people at least pre-Katrina protection takes money away
from other priorities in the "region" and from the 100 year protection
program's budget. I am stated the true facts, the hard reality, which is
politically incorrect, but hey, that's the beauty of not being in politics. 

The truth will come out. Those who are concerned that these feel good media
releases will cause loss of life because it gives a false sense of safety
will see to it that the truth will prevail. ddk