Isn't it obvious that Katrina flooded the high risk settlements in the east and some poorly designed levees flooded the rest? Aren't other parts of the city still at risk from future storms? A few areas are naturally on higher ground, but many parts of Jefferson and the west bank are not. Given the decades of effort it is going to take to rebuild, what would be the impact if another storm ravaged the other parts of town? Wouldn't that be the final straw?

As we fix the levees that flooded the center of the city don't we need also need to look hard at the levees that protect the areas that didn't flood. Do we think they didn't flood because of superior design and construction, or was it more just a matter of luck that the storm tracked to the east?

As the Corps rebuilds they are continuing to overlook critical problems on the westbank. Wetlands loss in the Barataria Basin is the worst in the state. The gulf is at our doorstep. A small storm taking Betsy's track to the west of the city would flood the westbank right to the river levee from Algiers to Luling. A bigger storm would drown that area under twenty feet of water.

Levees and flood gates are the needed as a stop gap until the wetlands can be rebuilt. The BNOB commission has called for floodgates at the Hero Canal along the ICWW.

The KB Homes proposal in Jefferson parish will develop some of the lowest lying land in the area to provide 20,000 homes. Does this make any sense at all? Won't developing this land cause additional requirements for levee development and flood control?