A flood of posts!
"Big bill for levee upkeep comes to New Orleans" by Cain Burdeau |
Associated Press, December 02, 2012
NEW ORLEANS — Engineers consider it a Rolls-Royce of flood protection — comparable
to systems in seaside European cities such as St. Petersburg, Venice,
Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. Whether the infrastructure can hold is less in
question than whether New Orleans can be trusted with the keys....
At current funding levels, the region
will run out of money to properly operate the high-powered system within
a decade unless a new revenue source is found....
On Nov. 6, New Orleans voters were faced with one of their first
challenges on flood protection when they voted on renewal of a critical
levee tax. The tax levy was approved, meaning millions of dollars should
be available annually for levee maintenance.
Bob Bea, a civil engineer at the University of California, said the
region must find additional money. ‘‘If you try to operate it and
maintain it on a shoestring, then it won’t provide the protection that
people deserve.’’
Many locals remain uneasy....
‘‘It’s scary,’’ said C. Ray Bergeron, owner of Fleur De Lis Car Care,
a service station in the Lakeview neighborhood where water rose to
rooftops after levees collapsed during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
Before Katrina, Bergeron said the local levee boards were complacent.
‘‘They told everybody everything was fine, ‘oh yeah, it’s fine. Let’s
go have martinis and lunch.’ ’’
After Katrina, the locally run levee boards that oversaw the area’s
defenses were vilified....
Deservedly so!
Congressional inquiries found the old Orleans Levee Board more
interested in managing a casino license and two marinas than looking
after levees.
Hey, it'$ AmeriKa (if you know what I mean).
--more--"
Going down now, readers.
