The Corps of Engineers New Orleans District has identified five flood mitigation projects across south Louisiana they feel stand a good chance of winning federal backing and eventually funding.
Corps spokesperson Ricky Boyett says the requests for funding, which could run several billion dollars, aren’t just for additional levee building.
“In south-central Louisiana, we’re seeing that most likely what is going to be the best option is going to be a non-structural alternative. When you are looking at the Amite River study, you’re seeing this combination of levees and non-structural,” says Boyett.
The five studies looked at the south-central coastal region, the upper Barataria, the Amite River, Lake Ponchartrain, and surrounding areas, and the West Bank of the Mississippi south of New Orleans.
The largest request for funding will be 3.2 billion dollars for New Orleans levees. Boyett says the levees are slowly sinking, and we’ll need a commitment to continually raise them back up to current standards.
“How do you maintain the level of risk reduction that we have today through the year 2073?”
Maintaining current levee protection levels is also necessary to meet National Flood Insurance requirements.
The study also calls for 1.4 billion to raise homes and businesses in south-central Louisiana, 500 million for levee work in St. Charles Parish, and several other 200 million dollars to 2 two-billion-dollar projects.
“We think we have identified the different alternatives for different areas that have the highest probability of being in the federal government’s best interest,” says Boyett.
