Head of Army Corps Responds to Levees.org’s Demand for Locations of Faulty Levees

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

17th Street Canal breach site. Photo/Matt Ewalt

Late last summer, civil engineer Matt McBride (Fix the Pumps) brought important information to our attention.

The ever vigilant Mr. McBride had discovered that the Army Corps of Engineers had issued an Engineering Technical Letter (ETL 1110-2-575) stating that the Corps had identified over 50 levee projects nationwide with potential performance concerns.

But the Corps did not reveal the 50 locations. Furthermore, sources to Levees.org indicated the number is actually more than 80 locations.

Believing that residents have a right to know that they may be in danger, Levees.org created a petition demanding that the head of the Army Corps release the locations of the levee systems with performance concerns. We presented the signatures (numbering over 1,100) to Ms. Jo-Ellen Darcy at the Pentagon on February 13, 2013.

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Clever Website Tells Story of New Orleans Flood of 2005

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

We think everyone should check out this handy-dandy website that gives an excellent ‘short take’ on New Orleans and the Great Flood of 2005.

Professor Stephen Nelson, Assoc Professor in Earth & Env Sciences at Tulane University created the site for his students.

Appropriately so, it starts out with a Myth Buster section and a geologic and human history of the city.

But, we think the best part is the section on The Hurricane Protection System. Using clear bullet points, it does a great job telling the story about the worst civil engineering disaster on U.S. soil. It provides an accurate description of the mistakes of those primarily responsible, the Army Corps of Engineers.

Check it out! Be sure to scroll about half way down.

http://go.levees.org/ProfNelson

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Levees.org’s Commentary Featured in Scientific American

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

In this month’s issue, Scientific American is featuring a letter submitted by Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal.

The letter notes a misleading assumption in an article by writer Mark Fischetti in an interview with Klaus Jacob, the scientist who predicted the damage from Hurricane Sandy.

In his discussion about sea level rise and subsidence, Klaus states:

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