The Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GIWW)
provides a 1,300 mile inland channel from Texas to Florida. GIWW
crosses the Mississippi River at New Orleans where locks are needed to raise vessels to the level of the river.
GIWW levees to the east
of the city create the northern side of the funnel that played such
as important role in Katrina's flooding. GIWW west provides a hurricane
highway that threatens Algiers and West Jefferson.
GIWW bisects Algiers and enters the
Mississippi River at the Algiers locks. There are no flood gates along
this heavily used navigation channel. Levees have been under
construction for years and currently stand at 9 1/2 feet.
Severly tested by T.S. Cindy and Hurricane Rita in 2005 the GIWW
represents at least as large a threat to the eastern half of the
westbank as the much smaller drainage canals on the eastbank and
perhaps as great a threat as the Industrial Canal.
The BNOB levees infrastructrure group proposed floodgates that would protect the Algiers and Harvey Canals but as far as
I can tell there has been no movement on this recommendation.
Here we go again. Just as armies are often accused of preparing to
fight the last war, is the Army Corps preparing to fight the last
flood? If so Metairie and the westbank are being left at significant
risk.
Whoa! Hold on a minute. In November, 2006 the Corps realized that their westbank plan is flawed. Now they want to abandon the canal levees and place a floodwall in the GIWW as recommended by the BNOB report.
This could be excellent news, but the reaction of the politicians is alarm. They fear the Corps is stalling. Instead of completing a bad design this year, the Corps is stopping the action, proposing a new study and will have to get more money and authorization from Congress. New environmental studies and challenges are likely. The westbank will remain exposed for at least five more years.
Finally in 2009 we see announcement of the West Closure Complex as recommended by BNOB. The protection is to be in place for the 2011 hurricane season.