Building levees helps alleviate storm surge concerns for the river parishes
The West Pontchartrain Risk Reduction System
The West Pontchartrain Risk Reduction System
The West Pontchartrain Risk Reduction System
The concept of storm surge isn't anything new. The most notable events date back to the 1960s with hurricanes Camille and Betsy. But the worst storm surge to hit southeast Louisiana came from Katrina. We witnessed a surge of about 10.5 feet in New Orleans that caused dozens of levees to fail.
But after a $15 billion upgrade, the metro has a brand-new system of levees, flood walls, a surge barrier, and the west closure complex pumping station and flood gate.
Still, in recent years, Hurricane Ida inundated Grand Isle with a surge of 11 feet and the river parishes with a 9-foot surge.
But help is on the way with the west shore Lake Pontchartrain risk reduction project.
Rene Poche is the public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “this whole system is going to be a combination of levees, flood walls, pumping stations, to help reduce risk for the residents of St. John, St. James, and St. Charles parishes. It's an 18 mile project that starts just west of the Bonnet Carre spillway and ends over in Garyville.”
Every component of the system, the levees, the flood walls, and the pumping stations, are built to withstand a 1 in 100 year storm.
For Southeast Louisiana, that usually equates to the worst case scenario of a category 3 hurricane.
On I-10 just beyond the Bonnet Carre, you may see what looks like an expressway being built. That’s the actual levee being built right now.
The base of this levee will be about 200 feet wide and it's going to be built to an elevation of 12 1/2 feet
The levee is more than just a pile of dirt. It also comes with special features buried deep inside. Features that will act like the wick of a candle sucking up the water from its base and delivering it through horizontal drainage strips ... Which empties into the drainage canal. This will allow for proper compaction and settling of the levee as it's being built.
So how did we get here?
Rene poche, “So this is a multi billion and about a 3 billion dollar project and it wouldn't be possible without help from the federal to the local level. So it's not just one entity doing this thing, it is a true partnership.”
Another highlight of the project is the fact it will employ hundreds of people directly or indirectly. That will pump in millions of dollars to the local economy.