Gov't Report Shows GAP Whistleblower Correct About Defective New Orleans Pumps

A letter and report from the Office of Special Counsel has determined that there are serious safety and reliability issues with hydraulic pumps that were installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. These pumps are designed, in case of emergency, to move flood water away from the city to the lake side of the floodgates. Despite repeated internal reports that the pumps were faulty, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) have repeatedly denied inherent flaws in the hydraulic pumps since 2007.

GAP client Maria Garzino, a USACE mechanical and civil engineer, was the Pump Team Installation Leader who blew the whistle on several problems that render the pumps ineffective. This new report substantiates her allegations.

You can read the full GAP press release here, the USA Today story here, or listen to the first in a very in-depth four-part series about Garzino’s claims and story of blowing the whistle on the faulty pumps of New Orleans from Southern California Public Radio here.