The Levee Debate

A collection of articles that examines all of the views about the construction and inspections of the levee system in New Orleans.

Vitter Plans Oversight Panel For Storm Safety (2/7/06)
U.S. Senator David Vitter will introduce legislation to Congress to create a new federal council to oversee hurricane and flood protection in south Louisiana. Such a council existed in the past and was disbanded during the Reagan administration. The council would consist of three members of the Corps, two civil engineers, two environmental experts, a flood protection expert, and a budget expert, all of who would focus on navigation and coastal restoration; ensuring that projects are being done adequately and efficiently.

Construction of a Floodgate in the 17th Street Canal Will Require a Massive Levee That Will Squeeze Out Much of Bucktown's Heritage (2/2/06)
In order to construct a temporary floodgate in the 17th Street Canal, it seems necessary for the city to reclaim the land where several local landmarks reside. Bucktown's fishing fleet, Sid-Mar's historic waterfront restaurant, and the Coconut Beach volleyball complex are among those affected by this construction. Unfortunately, the Army Corps of Engineers, with their very tight timeframe, will have to quickly buyout the properties that are privately owned, without much negotiating. Here is a closer look at the interim floodgate design.

Levee Board Plan Affects 8 Parishes (1/31/06)
Although a plan to consolidate the levee boards was stalled in the State Senate in November, Gov. Blanco will be presenting her version of the consolidation plan which is likely to be adopted. It would be an 11-member board, appointed by the governor from parish nominations, and then approved by the Senate. The members would consist of 5 professionals in engineers, hydrologists, or other similar professions; 3 professionals from different disciplines; and 3 others that would be "at large." All would have staggered terms, and extensive language was included to avoid any conflicts of interest among the members. They would report to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority under the state's jurisdiction, instead of the local parishes directly as is the case now.

Dangers of Canal Noted in 1871 (1/30/06)
This article documents the history of New Orleans and its canal system from 1721 through today. Ironically, the city is now taking the advice of a city surveyor, W.H. Bell, who called for changes to avert a disaster in 1871.

Eastern N.O. Residents Call For MR-GO to Close (1/30/06)
Congress announced that they will no longer be funding dredging the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO), a man-made waterway, that many believe was responsible for a lot of the flooding in Eastern New Orleans. Residents feel the MR-GO should be shut down, and has only been beneficial to commerce. The future of the MR-GO is still up in the air.

Levees Must Be Armored, Corps Says (1/30/06)
The Army Corps of Engineers will be sending a request of up to $600 million, with an "urgent" tag, to pay for supplies to armor the walls of the levees to prevent their failure, even when they are overtopped. Findings have indicated that if the levees had not broken, even where the waters overtopped the walls, it would have receded in about 2 hours, creating some damage, but nothing catastrophic. With this model, engineers believe a Category 3 levee with armoring can survive a Category 4 or 5 storm. It is no longer a question of if armoring will be used, but what kind, as illustrated. The Corps is still hoping to complete the project by June 1st.

Working Group for Post-Hurricane Planning for the Louisiana Coast (1/26/06)
Following the 2005 hurricane season, 19 natural and social scientists and engineers voluntarily came together to examine how coastal ecosystem restoration and hurricane protection could be integrated better. Many solutions have been suggested, but this group focused on the unique features of the Gulf Coast and its environment. The report concluded that a combination of levees and a sustainable coastal landscape was necessary for long-term protection. The leaders of the Corps of Engineers and Army were very receptive to the ideas this group put forth. They are hoping state officials will be equally open to these recommendations.

Corps of Engineers Vows To Do Better: Communications, inspections to improve (1/20/06)
As many different reviews of what went wrong during Hurricane Katrina and the levee system emerge, several things that stands out are: communication failures, inability to move around due to high water, ceremonious inspections from the Corps, and relying on local levee districts to conduct inspections without filing any reports. The Corps is currently addressing all of these issues, and is trying to resolve them.

Blanco Panel to Tackle Merger of Levee Boards (1/19/06)
Gov. Kathleen Blanco created the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which includes Johnny Bradberry and Scott Angelle, secretaries of the Departments of Transportation & Development and Natural Resources, respectively. The commission met for the first time on Wednesday, and are supporting consolidating some of the levee boards, similar to what was proposed in Congress last November.

Levee Report Must be Candid, Official Says (1/19/06)
Donald Rumsfeld ordered that the National Research Council committee's review of federal and independent investigations into the causes of failures in the levee system must be brutally honest. The committee began meeting on Tuesday, and will issue their first report in February describing what can be done immediately. These recommendations are outlined in the article. Their initial conclusions of their investigation will be released in June, followed by a final report in September.

Watching and Waiting (1/16/06)
This editorial questions whether the Army Corps of Engineers is really improving the levees, or making the same mistakes again in an effort to get them rebuilt by June 1st--before the 2006 Hurricane Season begins.

Engineers Have Qualms About MR-GO Work: Soil used to repair levees questioned (1/13/06)
Col. Lewis Setliff III tries to assure critics that he is being thorough, and avoiding building the structures out of weak marsh soils that failed during Katrina, but leading forensic engineers believe the soils being used are unsuitable. They believe that the levee will crumble again unless the Corps adds a layer of protective concrete or fabrics. In an effort to make the June 1st deadline, short-cuts are being taken and workers are being pressed to move quickly through the steps, but Setliff feels that he's got everything under control.

'We Know The World is Watching Us. There is no Room For Failure.' (1/13/06)
This article explains how the levees will be reconstructed, and what areas could potentially flood again, but not like during Katrina. Col. Lewis Setliff III, director of Task Force Guardian of the Army Corps of Engineers, promised that the levees will be restored to pre-Katrina conditions by June 1st. He said that they are checking and double checking to ensure that the material they are using is strong enough.

Netherlands Flood Similar to Katrina (1/12/06)
50 local, state, and federal officials from Louisiana toured two of the Dutch storm-protection systems that were built after a storm surge in 1953, similar to the effects of Katrina, devastated the province Zeeland in The Netherlands killing 1,836 people and destroying 43,000 homes. The event is documented at the Flood 1953 Museum. The officials were impressed about the amount of thought that was put into these designs, and voiced concern about how little effort was being taken in their designs at home. This story appeared in The Advocate, and has been moved to their fee-based archive.

La. Levees Need One, Nonpolitical Board (1/06/06)
This editorial examines the make-up of the Levee Board. 47,000 signatures asked to reduce the system to a single board. The writer urges the governor and legislatures to appoint engineers to these positions and utilize their expertise to make recommendations, maintenance assessments, and design improvements as needed, instead of a potentially politically motivated group of citizens.

Feds to Rebuild New Orleans Levees (12/15/05)
President Bush is requesting $1.5 billion more to help make the levee system in New Orleans stronger, but didn't reply when asked if this design could withstand a Category 5 hurricane.

Death of an American City: We can't just let New Orleans die (12/11/05)
An editorial and follow-up commentaries from the New York Times points to the lack of action the government is taking to help New Orleans recover, beginning with agreeing to make the levees and environment strong enough to withstand another Category 5 hurricane next year.

Scientists Say Levees Need New Concepts (12/10/05)
In addition to studying why the levees failed, scientists are now trying to figure out what solutions would work if a Category 5 hurricane hit the gulf coast area again, and what will it cost to build. This story appeared in The Advocate, and has been moved to their fee-based archive.