Shore Protection in Orleans Parish

摘要

The flood protection of the Parish of Orleans is the responsibility of the Board of Levee Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District, better known as, the Orleans Levee Board, a State Agency, of which I am its Chief Engineer. The extent of the Parish of Orleans is identical to that of the City of New Orleans and, therefore, any flood protection constructed in the Parish is for the protection of the City of New Orleans. The builtup area of the City of New Orleans can be pictured as a bowl with a lip of high ground or levees surrounding it. This lip prevents the flooding of the City from the 20 ft. of flood waters that occurs on the Mississippi River in the spring, and 5.5 ft. and 9 ft. of tidal waters that occur in Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne respectively, during hurricanes. Every drop of water that finds its way into the bowl must be pumped out by an immense drainage system with batteries of pumps having discharges as large as 14 ft. in diameter. Parts of the most densely populated area of this City are as low as 4 ft. below sea level.