Shift Sought for New Orleans Levee Funds

MercuryNews.com ^ | Feb 3, 2007 | By CAIN BURDEAU

[kinoxi]

NEW ORLEANS - The Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to divert up to $1.3 billion for levee repairs from the Mississippi River's East Bank, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, to the West Bank, where tens of thousands of people have resettled.

The West Bank was one of the only parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area spared the flooding that followed the 2005 hurricane. But the levees protecting it - and the roughly 250,000 people who live there - are inadequate, the corps concedes.

If approved, the plan has the potential to slow new levee work on the East Bank, where most of New Orleans is situated, and pit the city's residents against those on the West Bank.

"I think what the corps is trying to do is create some kind of turf war," said state Sen. Derrick Shepherd, one of the West Bank's most prominent politicians.

[kinoxi]

It would bring the total earmarked for West Bank projects to $3.3 billion, the bulk of $5.7 billion approved to fix and shore up the levees after Katrina.

[bmwcyle]

I thought we were not doing any thing for them.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"But the levees protecting it - and the roughly 250,000 people who live there - are inadequate, the corps concedes."

I strongly suggest that the Corps stop making such concessions since a Federal activist -- I mean, Judge -- has ruled that residents can sue them.

[proudofthesouth]

I'm still ticked off that this city (which will only be hit again) is being rebuilt.

If they must rebuild it then do it in a less hazardous area (maybe further upstream?).

[kinoxi]

This will end up being the eternal welfare city. There is no justification for building below sea level with government funds unless one desires to create a never ending cycle of destruction, dependency, and waste.

[af_vet_rr]

I'm still ticked off that this city (which will only be hit again) is being rebuilt.

The moment the race card was played, Bush and the government are up against the wall - if he ordered the money be used to build further back, he would be accused of being a racist.

The bad thing is, this will happen again. When I was *ahem* much younger, I remember Hurricane Camille and the aftermath (my dad and quite a few others from the base had to go down and help out).

If it happens again, I'm sure the feds will be blamed again.

[proudofthesouth]

I remember Camille very well. We got lots of rain from it up here in northern Alabama.

[mcshot]

You're absolutely right!

[G-Man 1]

My Grand father said back in the thirties that the levies they were building would not hold.

[trumandogz]

I have a house in NOLA that has stood for 125 years and has never flooded or been damaged by a hurricane. Furthermore, it is not below sea level and no one that lived there is on the Welfare.

[PFC]

Thank you.

My house in New Orleans, which is also above sea level, only flooded once in 90 years. And only then because the federally built flood protection did not withstand the kind of storm it was supposedly built to withstand.

The city has managed to survive in this location a long, long time. The money for rebuilding this American city is insignificant when compared with the money being spent to rebuild Muslim cities in Iraq.

[trumandogz]

99% of the people who post on the NOLA/Katrina threads know nothing about New Orleans except that it is in Louisiana, The other day someone said that the City is 20 feet below sea level and on another thread someone implied that the blacks in St. Bernard Parish are complaining too much and should not be permitted to rebuild. (They were apparently not aware a SB Parish's demographics)

When hurricane hit Florida or Mississippi most homes are destroyed. In New Orleans when a hurricane hits all I have ever had to do was replace a few slates and that 125 year old roof.

The City of New Orleans is as strong as those homes that have survived Betsy, Cammile, Katrina and the ones before my time. Those homes will survive many more storms and stand longer that any of us will be alive.

[lonestar]

The money for rebuilding this American city is insignificant when compared with the money being spent to rebuild Muslim cities in Iraq.

Two wrongs make a right?

As many people have been killed on the streets of NO as in Baghdad.

[kinoxi]

I'm not saying level the place. Do you believe it should be rebuilt physically like it was before? The problems that led to the recent catastrophe have only been exacerbated over time (the city is generally sinking) and can be expected, virtually guaranteed, to get worse. The city is a strategic necessity but much of it is an obvious waste to rebuild how it was. Congratulations on your house BTW.

[PFC]

This shell game of promising funds for a project and then shuffling the funds around is indefensible. It is inherently dishonest. Clearly the only retort possible is to attack the people of Louisiana for being so flaky as to live in an area that has withstood two centuries of storms.

[trumandogz]

Parts of New Orleans have stood for more than 200 years, far longer than almost any other city in the United States. In all of that time, the city and its structures have withstood all man and nature has offered.

However, as New Orleans has grown, it has been necessary to build in lower line areas. Essentially, when you are in Orleans Parish, the newer the homes the lower the ground.

Your question in not all that easy, since cities are organic, in that they grow when vibrant and shrink or die when infirm. New Orleans has been downsized since the Storm but will grow as businesses and industry return and workers are needed. Thus, at some point in time, the Ninth Ward will have to be repopulated as will Lakeview and the SB Parish.

Without question, the levees must be rebuilt stronger than they were before in order to protect the city and provide a level of comfort for the population, and business.

Levees to New Orleans part of the infrastructure of New Orleans, just as freeways are to LA and Subways are to NYC. If an earthquake or terror attack destroyed the infrastructure of LA or NYC, we would rebuild in order to help those cites survive.

[WatchOutForSnakes]

"Levees to New Orleans part of the infrastructure of New Orleans, just as freeways are to LA and Subways are to NYC. If an earthquake or terror attack destroyed the infrastructure of LA or NYC, we would rebuild in order to help those cites survive."

That is an excellent point.

[kinoxi]

I understand your point that the levees are a necessity. I've read multiple articles (no link right now, sorry) that state clearly that the levees are exacerbating the flooding problem and the city is generally sinking in relation to the surrounding plains because of them. 200 years ago the city was higher in relation to the water in other words. The adage 'when in a whole stop digging' might apply to parts of the city IMO.