Every person in the world who was old enough to watch TV watched the events of Words Whispered in Water unfold. Now, the 20th anniversary of the Flooding Catastrophe in New Orleans is almost upon us: August 29, 2025. Rosenthals book has not only stood the test of time but is deserving of even further attention and appreciation.
Since the first editions debut in August 2020, the Associated Press (AP) has revised its style guide for its reporters all over the world. AP reporters when writing about the flooding of New Orleans must note that levee failure played a major role. This style guide change is a direct result of Rosenthals book and her research.
Words Whispered in Water is a rare story about how a tiny woman prevailed against a mammoth federal agency and won. With corporations getting ever largerand even able to influence the outcome of presidential electionsthe power of a single individual might seem lost. Words Whispered in Water proves that the power of a single individual is alive and well.
When steel-reinforced floodwalls broke in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the responsible party, the Army Corps of Engineers, went into full-time damage control mode. The federal agencyin cooperation with a powerful engineering trade groupspent millions bamboozling the American public. The Army Corps blamed the resulting flood devastation and death on Mother Nature and the low moral character of the citys residents. But in the chaotic aftermath, Sandy Rosenthal uncovered evidence that the Army Corps had made egregious design mistakes in their floodwall design fifteen years earlier. When they buckled and failed, they caused nearly 1,400 deaths and $200 billion in damages. With no special training, she exposed the scandal and eventually changed the narrative from natural disaster to federal floodwall failure. How this miracle of public truth-telling was accomplished is the subject of Words Whispered in Water.
Everyone relies on the Army Corps of Engineers whether they know it or not. Nearly two-thirds of the American population lives in counties protected by floodwalls. The Army Corps budget for 2024 is $8.7 billion for civil works projects. A pie chart of annual federal spending in the United States shows a sliver big enough to see with the naked eye. The Army Corps employs 37,000 people, and there are Army Corps-built structures in every state of the nation.
Words Whispered in Water highlights the importance of exposing the bad behavior of giant corporations and bureaucracies whose unsavory activities affect millions of people. As many Fortune 500 companies are owning up to their bad behavior by flooding the airwaves with advertising promising to do better, Rosenthals vigilance regarding the Army Corps has the potential to produce a similar pay-off that could hundreds of thousands of lives in the future. Rosenthals story is crucial reading for potential citizen activists looking who desire to make a difference. Additionally, Words Whispered in Water provides lessons for politicians and bureaucrats from City Hall, to Congress, to the almost faceless Army Corps. In this era of lies and deception at every level in public life, the author shows how to use persuasiveness, persistence and free tools like the Freedom of Information Act, videos and social media to prevail.
Finally, Words Whispered in Water offers a valuable warning as to what is likely to happen in this time of eroding coastlines, coupled with Americas history of trying to controlinstead of coexistwith water.
Major Levee Studies
Prologue
Chapter 1: Good-bye New Orleans
Chapter 2: The Flood
Chapter 3: The Fairy Tale
Chapter 4: The Face of the Monster
Chapter 5: The Force to Be Reckoned With
Chapter 6: Figuring out the Allies
Chapter 7: Foiling the Ruse
Chapter 8: Facing Off with the Army Corps
Chapter 9: Bayoneting the Wounded
Chapter 10: A Major Coup
Epilogue
List of Acronyms
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Endnotes
The catastrophic floodwall failure of 2005 during Katrina and subsequent coverup by the Army Corps of Engineers inspired Sandy Rosenthal to community mobilizing, investigative writing, and a prolific speaking career. She left her full-time job in copywriting to create the grassroots group Levees.org and focus all of her time and energy on investigating wrongdoing and crafting reforms.
Her first challenge was to write federal legislation demanding an independent investigation of the levee failures. (HR6526 and S2826 were filed in the US House and Senate in 2008.) In 2012, she authored a federal nomination of two levee breach sites to the National Register of Historic Preservation. In 2017, Rosenthal authored reform legislation to require term limits for the Flood Protection Authority nominating committee. Capping the victory of the legislations unanimous passage, Rosenthal was invited by Governor John Bel Edwards to the Capitol Press Room for a special signing.
Rosenthal served on the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission. Her service includes being an invited guest of Secretary of State Hillary Clintons Women in Public Service Project, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's Transition Team Task Force, and the Transition Team for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, and an MBA from Tulane University, New Orleans.
Since founding Levees.org, Rosenthal has received many honors including:
Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year Tulane University, 2018
Most Influential Woman Mount Holyoke College, 2012
Outstanding Citizen Diplomat New Orleans Citizen Diplomacy Council
Hero of the Recovery New Orleans Magazine, 2015
Partners in Justice Award AVODAH, 2015
Role Model Young Leadership Council, 2012
Award of Merit Citizens and Victims Against Crime, 2009
