Post-Katrina Floodgates Provide 9% of Protection Advertised

A series of floodgates constructed post-Katrina and advertised to provide 66" (5.5ft) of flood reduction will, in fact, provide six inches of flood reduction. Less than 1/10th the amount claimed by the government and promised to local residents.

Why? Because "a minus sign was used instead of a plus sign."

Now you'd expect that a responsible government -- meaning one of the people and for the people -- would immediately sound the alarm, right?

Big surprise! They didn't.

Instead the government and contractors hired to inspect the work quietly released a report on November 7th, buried the colossal mistake in the back of the report and kept their mouths shut. It wasn't discovered until a local TV station started digging.

Very nice.

Now all the people who trusted the Army Corps of Engineers and rebuilt in that area are screwed, possibly facing higher insurance premiums and the prospect of having to sue to Army Corp of Engineers to recoup their losses and costs related to the failure.