New suit of armor

"I can remember sitting with the president and telling him that there were three major issues with New Orleans. One is levees. The second is levees. And the third is levees."
DONALD POWELL, President Bush's Gulf Coast recovery coordinator

As the corps of engineers works to gird us from the storm, the pace of building levees will only accelerate.

In the next four years, the Army Corps of Engineers expects to undertake one of the largest engineering projects in the nation's history, raising existing levees, replacing temporary flood gates and building new structures in eastern New Orleans.

Two years after most of the city flooded, the rapid pace of construction in dozens of spots along the levee system surrounding the New Orleans area soon will get even more intense as the corps proceeds with plans for a flood protection system that can withstand a hurricane with an estimated 1-in-100 chance of hitting Louisiana in any given year.

Federal Gulf Coast recovery czar Donald Powell said such short-term projects - and the greater level of protection now being planned for the future - reaffirm the federal government's commitment to making the region safe for rebuilding. Powell recently recalled stressing the importance of flood protection to President Bush soon after being appointed to the recovery post.

"I can remember sitting with the president and telling him that there were three major issues with New Orleans," he said. "One is levees. The second is levees. And the third is levees."

Last week, corps officials said the Bush administration would ask Congress for another $7.6 billion - on top of the $7.1 billion already appropriated - to ensure that the majority of projects are completed by the start of the 2011 hurricane season.

Even as contractors scurried to complete emergency repairs to damaged levees and walls during the two years after Hurricane Katrina, corps engineers have been working on designs for the next level of protection, which will include:


* Raising and widening most levees in the area from between 2 feet and 10 feet, with the highest towering 28.5 feet above sea level. Most will be raised again another 1.5 to 2 feet by 2057 to compensate for increased water levels that might result from subsidence or global warming.

* Replacing existing gates and floodwalls with taller, stronger structures, most of which will be built to the higher, 2057 protection levels.

* Building a new levee and new gates strategically located to dramatically reduce the threat of storm surge to the Industrial Canal and central New Orleans.

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