New Orleans Levee Board Mismanaged Levees

Wall Street Journal
Posted by: Chris Steins
28 November 2005

Investigators in New Orleans are determining that a patchwork of local agencies supposedly responsible for overseeing the levee system, called 'levee districts' are to blame for many system failures.

"Engineers and others now say substantial blame for some of those failures lies with the ineffectual patchwork of agencies overseeing the system. A big part of the problem is a colorful relic of 19th-century Louisiana: the local "levee districts" that own and maintain most of the levees and floodwalls. Held up as an essential defense against floods, they also became vehicles for government contracts and political patronage, critics say.

...The Orleans Levee District -- responsible for most flood control in the city and armed with a $40 million annual budget and nearly 300 employees -- had branched out over the years to build parks, marinas, a cash-strapped airport and a dock it leased to a casino gambling boat. Critics and some former board members say the board had lost sight of its original mission.

...Orleans Levee District officials appear uncertain about some details of their charge. Outside engineers who examined the levees after Katrina found evidence of poor maintenance along the 17th Street and London Avenue canals, both of which breached. Their report cited the growth of brush and trees on the earthen embankments, which can weaken the structures. The Army Corps says maintenance should involve removing trees or brush."