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Army Corps says closing gaps in New Orleans levee

Posted on: Monday, 5 September 2005, 14:20 CDT

VICKSBURG, Mississippi (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Monday it had completely closed one major gap in the levees breached by Hurricane Katrina and was close to repairing a second major breach.

"Progress has been sufficient to allow the contractors to be in position to completely close the breach at 17th Street, and the breach at the London Street Canal has been completely closed," the Corps said in a statement.

"The primary focus today is to assess the pumps within the city and to work to get some of those started today," said Greg Breerwood, deputy district engineer for Project Management.

"We'll want to start those pumps slowly to watch the impacts on the system, trying to ensure no damage as the system begins to sustain the increase in flow," said Breerwood, who was overseeing the flood fight from the New Orleans emergency operations center in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Water has continued to flow slowly out of New Orleans over the last several days, Breerwood said, but "access to several of the sites have required the Corps and its contractors to overcome major hurdles," including security threats.

"We also made breaches in the St. Bernard and Plaquermines parishes to assist in lowering water levels in those neighborhoods," Breerwood said.

He said the Corps was moving additional pumps into affected areas to start draining the city and that several barges were interfering with the effort to raise the bridges over the Industrial Canal.

Navigation along the Mississippi River has also been opened to vessels under 39-foot (12-meter) draft, he said.

Source: REUTERS

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