By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post

Deteriorating Smithsonian facilities have damaged historic airplanes, threatened collections and resulted in the leakage of tens of millions of gallons of water at National Zoo enclosures, while cuts in security staff have exposed artifacts in the institution’s 18 museums to vandalism and theft, the Government Accountability Office reported yesterday.

A backlog of construction and maintenance projects at the Smithsonian has ballooned to $2.5 billion, the GAO said, in part because Smithsonian officials insist that most facility repairs and upgrades be paid for through federal appropriations and not private money. The government provides 70 percent of the Smithsonian’s money — $715 million last year.

Those facility problems have forced a museum director to occasionally shut down galleries and left some staff at an art gallery scrambling each day to find new drips, while underground leaks at the National Zoo’s sea lion and seal pools have caused 110,000 gallons of water a day to flow into storm drains. That’s more than 40 million gallons of water a year at an annual cost of $297,000. Repairs this year have reduced the leakage from what had been 140,000 gallons of water a day, the GAO said, and efforts to plug the remaining leaks are underway, a Smithsonian spokeswoman said.

“There is no question that the $2.5 billion facilities requirement is one of the most important challenges the Smithsonian faces,” acting Secretary Cristi¿n Samper wrote in his response, which was attached to the report. “We must not lose sight, however, of the need to continue advancements and improvements in our programs as well, an area in which our donors have been extraordinarily generous.”

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