Say it Ain't so Joe
 

The levee systems suffer from age, erosion, and seepage issues. Routine maintenance activities have generally been performed very well by the State and Local districts based upon their levels of funding. Costly upgrades needed to enhance the design level of protection have been under-funded. As a result, the committee gave an overall grade for levees a D-.

And

The project would raise and widen nearly 25 miles of levees bordering the Natomas basin to satisfy federal flood control officials.

In 2006, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that Natomas levees don't meet new underseepage criteria.

Subsequently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared that the region will lose its 100-year flood safety certification, forcing the basin's 70,000 residents to buy flood insurance and likely causing development restrictions.

This statement was not about the levees in the New Orleans area. They pertain to the levees on the American River near the capital of the Golden State, that's right, Sacramento CALIFORNIA. Yes, on WWL radio, NO, LA this very afternoon was an engineer who predicted the levee failures in NO, making the same claims for the Sacramento area where he now lives. Same situation, COE levees, same complaints of leaking levees, same prediction, failure from blowouts. His prediction is 66% chance of failure within 50 yrs. Here is a link with some interesting info.

http://www.escalera.com/safelevee/ and this one http://www.swhydro.arizona.edu/archive/V5_N2/feature3.pdf

My favorite quote is from the gentleman stating, "we should be living in a 100 yr flood plain, not a 10 yr flood plain. Predictions for catastrophic sound pretty dire, 400,000 people at risk plus salinization of large part of the state's water supply.

I know many here will join me in pointing out that A. whatever the COE builds is good enough for them, don't complain and B. only an idiot would build in such an area & that NO FEDERAL MONEY should be spent to help people this foolish. What kind of politicians are those folks electing?

...priceless!

USACOE = clueless!

Clueless & well funded with all our $$$$.

In the words of Bruce Willis when called a SOB in Die Hard; "And then some"

The state of the Sacramento levees has been known to be poor for a long time. I believe Proposition 1E addressed this (the Governator's "special election") by floating state bonds intended to raise money to help with this.

I think Proposition 1Q was the one that officially named Sacramento a "chocolate city", therefore making it eligible for federal disaster aid". :p

Another answer to a question nobody asked. What's your point? Nothing new here, been talked about for years, even TV shows about it. Just now getting to your news? Just can't get away from California?
What's happening in NOLA?

The federal government should spend the exact same percentage of fed money on California as they spend on Louisiana compared to how much the state pays into the system. If they do that, they will have to more than double the money they spend here. We're talking spending many billions of dollars more here, and spending less in other states that don't pay their fair share.

Louisiana gets almost twice as much back as they put in. If they put in $1 they get back $2. California gets back around 70 cents for every dollar they put in.

It's high time that the federal government stopped taking California's money to support the dead-beat states and started spending more here so we get OUR FAIR SHARE.
I'm tired of supporting the proverbial black sheep brother-in-law who constantly b!tches and complains no matter how much we do for him. We give him cash and he b!tches because it's green and dirty. Time for him to stand on his own legs and see how he likes that.

Bet you don't like that at all, do ya? SmileWavySmileWavySmileWavy

Mule has some problems, he keeps trying to compare Loosiana to California, earthquakes to hurricanes, below sea level to wildfires. Apples to bannanas.
None of this is the same Mule, it is being taken care of as we speak. Houses are being rebuilt, replanted, moving on. Schools built, people working. No big news story.

Folks there just looking for some handouts.....

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Louisiana could cripple the entire nation with the control of natural gas and refining done in the state that the state is not compensated for.

I have a good idea. Cut their funding. That will teach them to be more effective.

That as well as making them face lawsuits that they seem to be exempt from.

Better yet Sambo, get the Federal Govt to stop stealing LA oil & gas royalties & we'll fix our own *****!

FYI, I was at a cigar promo tonight & like most of those events they are at least a little bit upscale. Two black guys were talking to one another & since they were smoking $10 cigars, I'm guessing they weren't living on hand outs. As I was grabbing a bite to eat one of them was telling the other, "I hope they don't rebuild the projects." Must have been some racist SOBs. Where are Jesse & al when you need them?

Here's some of that "affordable housing" that sweet young reporterette was referring to.
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CP3, keepin it real. A lot of you that will watch this have no clue what these projects were like & never will. But this is the fruits of LBJ's great society. Enjoy.

Yeah, what is with this "affordable" meaning subsidized housing crap anyway. You can't afford to live somewhere without government subsidies, you should move to where you can afford to live. If that housing is a toilet, its because of the people who live there, and the handouts the government gives them that keep them on subsistence living. I've seen stories in the LA Times about people who have lived in Section 8 housing in LA and Chicago for 50 years and are now lkie 77 years old. WTF, your on the dole for 50 years??? What has that person done to improve their personal lot in life in 50 years? I know what I've done, I was born, I got an education, I went in the military, I put myself through college, I saved, I worked my butt off, I went back to school at night, I saved, I worked my butt off, repeat....

You've surely confused him now..

Impossible. For that to be possible, he would have to "not be confused" to begin with.

No wonder why we NEVER went to that part of town.

Another good idea. Sue their asses off. That will certainly save tax dollars.