Corps of Engineers springs more leaks

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published September 17, 2007

The folks responsible for the levies that collapsed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have brought their act to Florida. Lucky us.

A 550-acre reservoir recently completed by the corps in South Florida is so poorly constructed that filled to just 38 percent of its capacity it already leaks and poses a potential flooding threat to nearby homes and Interstate 95. The corps spent $34-million on the project and now admits it will take at least another $13-million to fix.

That's reason enough to make Floridians shake their heads in disgust, but more bad news could be coming. The Ten Mile Creek reservoir near Fort Pierce is part of a much more complex plan to clean up the Everglades and its coastal estuaries. If the corps can't get this relatively simple project right, what hope is there for overall Everglades restoration?

And that's still not the worst news. The corps is involved in an even more important flood control project, repairing the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee. Should that dike fail during a hurricane, the environmental devastation, property damage and potential loss of life could be catastrophic.

Even though corps officials admit flaws in the reservoir project and vow to fix them, it's not clear when that might happen. "We can't spend another penny, by statute, on Ten Mile Creek," said Alan Bugg, the corps' constructions and operations chief. So it's illegal for the corps to fix its mistake? How reassuring.

And the South Florida Water Management District, which paid for half of the project, has budgeted no money this year for unforeseen repairs. That puts the ball back in Congress' court. An authorization bill for Everglades restoration awaits reconciliation between the Senate and House, and is so loaded with unrelated pork projects that President Bush has threatened to veto it. What kind of message does it send to Floridians that neither Congress nor Bush will act to stop the next flooding disaster or save the incomparable Everglades?

As we await an answer, the Ten Mile Creek reservoir is likely to continue to crumble and leak - much like the Army Corps of Engineers' reputation.

[Last modified September 16, 2007, 20:56:27]