NEW ORLEANS -- Lakeview neighbor Roy Arrigo lives a few doors down from where the 17th Street Canal levee failed, flooding a large swath of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
"This is where the walls fell in 2005," Arrigo said. "Ever since then, since I live real close by, I keep a close eye on it."
Arrigo is troubled by what he now sees on a vacant piece of property along Bellaire Drive.
Contractors working on the permanent pump station at the mouth of the canal used the property as a staging area.
After they cleared out a few months ago, Arrigo noticed water bubbling up from the ground.
"It seems to be increasing," Arrigo says. "Heck, it's only recent that it's gotten to the point where it's coming over the street."
Structural engineer H.J. Bosworth from the non-profit levees.org, took a look at the problem.
"What we have here is obviously is seepage coming from deep in the ground, flowing underneath this brand new T-wall," Bosworth said.
The Army Corps of Engineers made more than $22 million in repairs to this levee after Katrina.
Bosworth says the seepage appears to stem from the giant sandbags originally used to plug the levee breech which he says remain in place under the levee.
"Imagine a bag of rocks, you have a canvas bag of rocks or a pillow case full of rocks, water will go right through a pillow case full of rocks," Bosworth said.
The local flood protection authority recently sent its own engineers to inspect the site.
"This is a fairly significant location an emotional place for a lot of people," SLFPA-East CAO Derek Boese said. "We have been aware of this most recent seepage since last week."
The flood protection authority is now working with the Army Corps to fix the problem.
"We fully expect the Corps to be accountable for any work that they did previously that may have contributed to this," Boese said. "We will absolutely work with them on a solution for the neighborhood and the safety of the city."
Boese admits the seepage problems were first reported about ten years ago.
At the time, it was determined there was no immediate threat.
In the meantime neighbors want the problem fixed once and for all.
"It seems to be increasing," Arrigo said. "If it isn't a threat now, will it become one?"