D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Wednesday the city will pay $2.5 million to repair the 17th Street levee - a flood barrier by the Potomac River the Federal Emergency Management Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deemed unsuitable last year.
The funding is in response to FEMA's proposal last year for an extended flood zone in the District that would include the Federal Triangle, sections of the Mall, the base of Capitol Hill and a large section of Southwest D.C. The temporary extension would require residents and businesses in that area to purchase flood insurance. The D.C. government would also need to implement temporary building codes in the zone in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program. Several D.C. agencies including the Office of Planning and Economic Planning had voiced concerns that these regulations would hurt the local economy, The Washington Post reported.
In 2006, Army Corps inspectors realized adverse weather would pose problems for emergency workers filling sandbags at the barrier along 17th Street during a flood emergency, Steve Garbarino, the project manager at the Army Corps' Baltimore office.
FEMA was investigating flood hazards in the D.C. area at the same time and responded by calling for repairs to the levee and proposed a new Flood Insurance Rate Map, which details the endangered zone and mandates flood insurance. Earlier this month, FEMA delayed implementation of both the new map and the mandatory building codes, according to a press release posted on the D.C. Office of Planning and Economic Development's Web site.
Some D.C. agencies voiced concerns over FEMA's requirements, claiming it would financially hurt residents, federal agencies and businesses within the proposed zone.
Garbarino said repairing the levees was an urgent matter. If the Potomac River were to flood over, the entire District would have a serious emergency.
"The damage would be pretty extensive," he said. "There is a risk of severe flooding until this closure is fixed."
The repairs are expected to last 15 months, according to the press release.
WonJae Lee, a junior in the Kogod School of Business, said repairing the levee at any cost is beneficial to both the District and Mayor Fenty's reputation.
"Preparation is always important, especially for politicians," he said.
In the meantime, a 6-foot-high "post and panel" levee may be constructed across 17th Street. Holes would be cut in the street, securing poles to hold up panels, Garbarino told The Post in January.
Sarah Boison, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said she was not aware the 17th Street levee was faulty. She said fixing the barrier was needed, but in a city with a tight budget, the cost should be considered as well.
"After Katrina, it would be a good idea because you never know," Boison said. "But they need to take into consideration the cost as well."
Enrique Darszon, a senior in the School of International Service, said the cost of the repairs was lower than the amount one would expect the government to need to fix a levee.
"You would think the D.C. government spends more than $2.5 million on office supplies alone," he said.
D.C.'s three levees - including ones along 23rd Street and along Fort McNair in Southwest - are part of a 100-year flood zone program FEMA implemented in the 1930s. A 100-year flood zone is a flood elevation with a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in a given year, according to the agency's Web site.
