Floodwall probe focuses on weak soil (peat moss)

[Carolab]

This had only been previously reported on NOLA.org to my knowledge...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9903362/

Search on to find why New Orleans’ flood defense system failed

NBC News
Updated: 7:43 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2005
WASHINGTON - Engineers are conducting the equivalent of a forensic investigation at the levees and floodwalls of New Orleans, drilling deep into the earth to examine the soil itself. The Army Corps of Engineers is looking for evidence that could explain why the flood defense system the agency designed to protect the city was instead overwhelmed by Hurricane Katrina.

Already, one investigator who testified Wednesday before a Senate committee said there may have been "malfeasance" in the building of the levees, while a report blamed "failures in the foundation soils" for the worst floodwall collapses.
Investigators want to know if Katrina's devastation in New Orleans was caused in part by fatal errors on the part of the agencies that designed and built the levee system, and for now, attention is turning to the Army Corps of Engineers itself.

Veteran soil expert Herbert Roussel worked as a consultant for the contractor hired by the Army Corps of Engineers to build the 17th street floodwall more than 10 years ago. "We noticed that the soil was weak," he said in an interview with NBC News, "and it was pointed out to the Corps of Engineers that we had weak soil there."

{snip}

[obxhead]

1. I saw this on CNN a few days ago.

Makes you wonder what kind of dirt your house may sit on, doesn't it.

[Carolab]

2. The dirt your house is built on is the developer's responsibility.

It leaves you someone--a private company--to sue.

In this case, the government hired some crap contractors and now civil suits have to take the government to court.

[obxhead]

3. A developer's responsibility only goes as far as the

regulations and codes it must obey. From my construction experience those codes often don't go far enough.

[Carolab]

4. I work in new home construction.

Whenever my builder/developer had a "soil problem", it was his responsibility to fix it and he did. Heading off costly lawsuits by making less expensive repairs (relatively) is smart business. The Army Corps of Engineers didn't care about pissing off its customers...or covering itself in case of lawsuits. And their responsibility only goes as far as their own specifications. Where is the oversight?