Did the engineers who built New Orleans’ huge flood protection pumps after Hurricane Katrina get a bad rap?
A lot of ink has been spilled over the huge hydraulic pumps that now contribute to New Orleans’ flood protection system. And rarely do the newspaper stories and blog posts fail to describe these pumps as “defective” and lay much of the blame on the pumps’ supplier, Moving Water Industries (MWI), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Were the pumps really flawed or did MWI and the Corps get a bad rap? The answer isn’t as straightforward as the mainstream media accounts and blogs would have you believe. And it’s an answer that involves an untold story about the unexpected engineering consequences that can arise when engineering organizations have to design, build and deliver complex equipment in a hurry. MWI’s axial flow hydraulic pumps, 40 in all, work in conjunction with flood gates put in place by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Installed where the city’s three drainage canals meet Lake Pontchartrain, the gates swing closed during storms to prevent t
