Army Corps Looking for 100 Million Cu Yd of Clay
Geologic Hazards
New Orleans Repeats Deadly Levee Blunders
That is the title of a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article on post-Katrina levee issues in New Orleans (by way of ASCE Smart Brief). I think the article is somewhat sensationalized, but they do cite some interesting parallels between the levee reconstruction efforts made after Katrina and the levee construction/reconstruction that occurred after Hurricane Betsy in 1965.
The article also discusses a recent US Army audit with some disturbing although not unexpected findings:
An initial September 2010 target to complete the $14.8 billion in post-Katrina work has slipped to mid-2011. Then last September, an Army audit found 84 percent of work behind schedule because of engineering complexities, environmental provisos and real estate transactions. The report added that costs would likely soar.
A more recent analysis shows the start of 84 of 156 projects was delayed – 15 of them by six months or more. Meanwhile, a critical analysis of what it would take to build even stronger protection – 500-year-type levees – was supposed to be done last December but remains unfinished.
Project Related
Rubble from Katrina will be used in erosion control gabion mattresses
The I-10 Twin Spans bridges were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but the concrete rubble from the structures will be used inside gabion mattresses to line a 7.8-mile stretch of the Lake Borgne shoreline to reduce […]
Failures
Mill Creek Dam near Walla Walla, WA Leaking, Receives Corps Worst Rating
The Mill Creek Dam near Walla Walla, Washington has served its purpose admirably for over 67 years but according to a recent report by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the dam received a Dam Safety Action Category (DSAC) rating of 1 out of 5 which means that the risk to public safety is too great when Bennington lake which is formed by the dam is more than 17% full for an extended period of time. More after the break. (Photo by USACOE)