The Harvey canal is a six mile long waterway running north south, bisecting the westbank of New Orleans. At its northern end it joins the Mississippi River just west of Gretna (remember Police Chief Lawson who shot at Americans trying to escape from New Orleans). This is approximately the geographic center point of the westbank and is directly across the river from Louisiana Avenue. At its southern end it empties into the Intercoastal Waterway. The locks at the Mississippi River are what?

The canal provides waterborne commerce and construction facilities. Much of the commerce is focused on serving the port and offshore oil interests.

When hurricanes pass west of the city, the Harvey Canal is just as dangerous to the westbank as the drainage canals along Lake Pontchartrain are to the east bank when a storm passes to the east.. Storm surge comes straight up the channel and threatens the levees.

During Rita the westbank almost flooded. Works under way to provide floodgates and improved levees underscore the seriousness of the matter (status?).