[backhoe]

I would think they would preferably send it to the Mississippi. Pontchartrain is going to become a sewage hole, otherwise.

I think you're right-- between the human waste, debris, industrial/chemical contaminants, and corpses, it's got to be a witch's brew of toxic, foul material.

One thing keeps nagging me-- don't levees have to have one side dry to maintain structural integrity? It seems to me that if the levee is soaked on both sides, it's just a pile of mud, and that when you pump one side dry, it would breech from the pressure.

[DB]

I would think that would be true for an earthen levee. Especially if it's been wet on both sides for awhile. We'll see.

[XEHRpa]

One thing keeps nagging me-- don't levees have to have one side dry to maintain structural integrity? It seems to me that if the levee is soaked on both sides, it's just a pile of mud, and that when you pump one side dry, it would breech from the pressure.

I fear you are right. While I have no expertise on levee engineering, I believe that the draining of NOLA may have to proceed more slowly than the actual pump capacity for this reason.