Most faulty levees found not repaired

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Less than half of U.S. river levees identified early last year as being poorly maintained have been repaired since then, documents show.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found 122 levees in a February 2007 survey it identified as having "unacceptable" maintenance deficiencies that would make them unreliable in a major flood. But only 45 have had necessary repairs, according to data provided in response to a request from USA Today, the newspaper said Monday.

State and local governments responsible for maintaining the levees were given a year to fix structures cited by the corps, with failure to do so resulting in ineligibility for federal rehabilitation funding if they are damaged by floodwaters. People living behind the faulty levees also could be required to buy flood insurance, the newspaper said.

"It doesn't surprise me that a lot of these levees have not been fixed," Larry Larson of the national Association of State Floodplain Managers, told USA Today, saying some local governments lack money for repairs. Others, he said, "see this as a federal problem … They're saying, 'Well, what's going to happen if we don't fix them?' The levee fails and the federal taxpayer will pay for the damages."