A privately built border fence that spans 3-miles along the shores of the Rio Grande is already starting to erode, according to an engineering report on the project.
Raw Story reports experts say it will only be a matter of time before the fence fails. The new engineering report is one of two studies that will be filed in federal court this week, according to the outlet.
The border fence was built this year by North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel. Issues with the fence were already reported by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. They reported that parts of the structure could possibly overturn due to extensive erosion. Concerns were dismissed by the builder as normal post-construction problems.
Part of the border fence was paid for by donations made to the “We Build the Wall” nonprofit. The co-founders of the group, which raised more than $25 million to help build a border wall, are involved in a legal battle. Former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, We Build the Wall founder Brian Kolfage and two others connected to the nonprofit are accused of using donor money to pay off personal debt and fund their lavish lifestyles. They each face up to 20 years in prison. They have pleaded not guilty.
The nonprofit also hired Fisher to erect a half-mile fence segment in Sunland Park, New Mexico, which is located outside El Paso.
The group contributed $1.5 million of the cost of the $42 million private border fence project south of Mission, Texas, according to Raw Story.
But the Rio Grande fence that Fisher’s president Tommy Fisher called the “Lamborghini” of border walls doesn’t appear to be that high quality, according to engineering reports.
According to Raw Story, Fisher agreed to an inspection as part of ongoing lawsuits against Fisher Sand and Gravel filed last year by the National Butterfly Center and the International Boundary and Water Commission. The groups failed to convince a federal judge to stop the construction of the project until the potential impacts of the wall on the Rio Grande could be determined.
Mark Tompkins, an environmental engineer hired by the wildlife refuge, noted erosion has already taken place and the fence hasn’t even experienced a flood of the Rio Grande.
“Fisher Industries’ private bollard fence will fail during extreme high flow events,” Tompkins noted.
“When extreme flow events, laden with sediment and debris, completely undermine the foundation of the fence and create a flow path under the fence or cause a segment of the fence to topple into the river, unpredictable and damaging hydraulics will occur,” he added in an affidavit that will be filed in court.
Because of the fence’s location to the water and sandy material of the banks, experts say it will always have problems with erosion.
A second report, which is based on a geotechnical and structural inspection by the Millennium Engineers Group, found that the fence is currently stable, but will face issues in the future.
“The geography at the wall’s construction location in comparison to the river bend is not at a favorable location for long-term performance,” the report states.
According to Fisher’s maintenance plan, which was obtained by Raw Story, the company plans to conduct quarterly inspections of the fence as well as extra checkups after large storms. It will also plant grasses and add a layer of rocks to help with erosion. New soil will also be “treated and seeded” to help fill ground cover, according to the plan.
But Tompkins called the maintenance plan “completely inadequate” and a “haphazard and unprofessional approach to long-term maintenance.”
Fisher called any concerns about engineering “absolutely nonsense.”
“I would invite any of these engineers that so-called said this was gonna fall over, I’ll meet ‘em there next week. …If you don’t know what you’re talking about, you probably shouldn’t start talking,” he said. “It’s working unbelievably well. There’s a little erosion maintenance we have to maintain.”
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