On June 16 the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing: “New Orleans Hurricane and Flood Protection and Coastal Louisiana Restoration: Status and Progress,” which summarized updates on the New Orleans levees and discussed plans to rebuild.

Chairman Boxer and the rest of the Committee were adamant that it would be “tragic if we choose the wrong fix,” and that the Committee and residents of Gulf Coast states must demand the best levee pump system available.  The Committee expressed particular concern during the testimony of Brigadier General Michael Walsh, Commander, Division Engineer, Mississippi Valley Division, US Army Corps of Engineers.  General Walsh is tasked with leading the levee restoration effort, and the majority of the hearing focused on his testimony.

There are two main plans to modify the existing levees.  The first plan is to construct permanent gated pumping stations by the three main canals and to keep the water down to six feet by monitoring and pumping excess water to Lake Pontchartrain.

The second plan involves modifying the outfall canals and reducing flooding in the city by addressing rainwater drainage as well as storm surges.  Additionally, the plan would rebuild and redesign all walls, even those not damaged by Hurricane Katrina, based on the assumption that they are all susceptible to damage during periods of large flooding and storm surge.

Many politicians and some individuals in the Army Corps of Engineers appear to have stated support for the second plan, which would redesign rather than simply rebuild the levees and pumps.  General Walsh and Army Corps of Engineers, however, do not believe they have been authorized and funded to study the second plan, and intend to proceed with the first.  The Committee did not understand the rationale against the second plan, which improves the system as a whole. General Walsh, on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers, stated that the second plan had not been shown to provide better protection and that it would require more complex engineering.

The Army Corps of Engineers does not believe that they were authorized or funded to perform an extensive study of the second plan.  Senator Vitter, a member of the Committee, disagreed and quoted the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (section 7012), which authorizes new levee construction and contains the language: “to modify the…. drainage canals and install pumps at closure structures at or near the lakefront.”  He argues that the word “modify” may refer more to the second plan, which involves adjusting outfall canals.

The need for careful, well-researched, and timely action in the rebuilding of the levees is imperative, and failing to do so is dangerous.  It is alarming that almost four years after Hurricane Katrina, the problematic levees have not been fully repaired and an already vulnerable population has been left without adequate protection.  The United States cannot wait for another severe hurricane to strike before finally installing a secure levee system to protect an already devastated and highly populated coastal area.

Shira Silver is an intern with the Disaster Accountability Project.  She is a student at the University of Maryland.