According to Dan Riehl, the Levee board of New Orleans has had a few problems in the past.

Levee board under federal investigation before Katrina hit

Rampant public corruption was doing big business in New Orleans long before Hurricane Katrina ever hit. What then Congressman, now Senator David Vitter calls “corrupt, good old boy” practices were apparent in the New Orleans Levee Board just one year before the collapse of regional levees, emergency communications and government services brought the Big Easy to the brink of anarchy. In fact, Senator David Vitter requested a federal investigation into improper practices of a number of public utilities, including the New Orleans Levee Board, and a new Task Force was to have been initiated in the Baton Rouge office, beginning in July 2004.

Being a member of the Levee Board does not require an engineering degree, or any type of experience with a levee. Their only purpose is to serve at the Governor’s pleasure.