If this news weren’t so disturbing, it would be almost humorous as the ultimate symbol of federal-government mishaps.
The nearly 70-year-old levee system in Washington, which protects some of our most famous national landmarks, could fail, leaving parts of the city under as much as 10 feet of water and causing $200 million in damages.
This is one infrastructure problem that the government must correct. Now.
The levee system protects the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the White House visitor center, the National Archives, Justice Department headquarters and other buildings.
“We have built a series of structures and walked away from them historically,” Leonard Shabman, a water-resources expert, told The Associated Press. “If you’ve got potholes in the road, people go out and fix them; that’s not the case with levees.”
Washington was built on reclaimed swamp land and has always been vulnerable to flooding, the AP story noted, but the threat is worsening because of the rising sea level there, the increased runoff that development has caused and more potent storms.
Using sandbags to plug the holes in the levee won’t suffice anymore.
The levee system needs to be strengthened to ensure that it’s strong enough to withstand a 100-year flood, regardless of how much that will cost.
Washington has long been out of touch.
But no American wants to see it get a lesson in reality by having the landmarks that we all cherish ruined by flooding.
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