Levees in 27 States at Risk of Failing; Could Trigger Flood Insurance Mandate

February 5, 2007

  • February 5, 2007 at 8:25 am
    Ray Broussard says:
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    New Orleans homeowners victimized by US Army Corps of Engineers’ negligence have learned much about insurance and Corps’ levee designs.

    If your community is allegedly protected by Corps levees, buy NFIP flood insurance and make sure you buy enough.

    The Corps is so confident of their designs they use 1.3 as a safety factor. Aerospace is about the only industry that uses such a low safety factor values, but they test every part and levees are not tested until it is too late. They do not account for waves, impact loads from water traffic, dynamic loads, or deterioration of structural integrity due to wear and erosion during the structure’s life cycle. Survivability is a normal engineering consideration, but Corps levee designs do not consider if the structure will survive when over-topped. They use average values for soil strength over the length of the levee without consideration for the non-homogenous nature of the material.

    And, the Corps listens to no one and blames anyone and anything for their errors. Their leaders are more often than not lawyers, contract specialists and managers rather than engineers. Communities should not take the word of the Corps that levee problems are a result of maintenance.



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