Levee Foundations Shorter Than Thought

The steel sheet pilings used in the foundations of levees around New Orleans range from a depth of 9.3 feet to 11.8 feet below sea level, even shorter than some investigators thought, according to a technical report released Monday.

The report contains the results of seismic testing of pilings along three canals in New Orleans that suffered breaches during Hurricane Katrina. The shortest pilings were thought to range from 10 feet to more than 18 feet.

The tests were conducted by an engineering firm for the Army Corps of Engineers. The corps was expected to pull out one of the pilings on the 17th Street Canal today for additional testing.

Engineers have said that shallow pilings would make the levees vulnerable because they would allow canal water to seep underneath to the dry side of the flood wall, eventually causing the wall to collapse.