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Don't Shore Up Levees, Get Rid of Them, Enviros Say

(CNSNews.com) - The New Orleans flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was due to government's failure to shore up the levees keeping the water at bay, according to many critics, but not to the environmental groups gathered in Washington, D.C., Friday.

Despite a 200-foot hurricane-induced levee breach that contributed to the flooding of 80 percent of New Orleans, the enviro-activists contended that levees of any sort are a bad idea.

"There are two kinds of levees - levees that have failed and levees that will fail. It doesn't make sense to invest in levees if you don't invest in the buffer zone," said Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The buffer zone refers to natural floodplains in the area. The National Wildlife Federation insisted that levees destroy the natural ability of floodplains to retain water.

"We must respect the natural ecology of the Mississippi River, and allow it to perform its natural task of creating a vibrant delta and system of islands that buffer inland communities," said Jerome Ringo, who chairs the board of directors for the National Wildlife Federation.

The Association of State Floodplain Managers does not advocate the construction of new levees to protect undeveloped areas because such a strategy "often results in creating situations where the expense of ongoing operation and maintenance costs may, over time, exceed the costs of other mitigation alternatives such as acquisition and relocation or elevation." Floods produce billion in annual damages, according to the association.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has a different view, insisting that "levees keep homes, businesses and farms safe."

The American Society of Civil Engineers also includes levees and flood control dams among its flood mitigation tools.

"We ought to have levees and floodwalls where necessary and non-structural approaches. It makes sense to do both," said Gerald E. Galloway, an engineering professor at the University of Maryland.

"A well constructed, maintained levee can provide sound protection if it is in fact maintained and at the proper elevation and height to protect against the flood," he added.

Galloway conceded, however, that major floods will continue to plague the thousands of miles of U.S. territory relying on levees.

"Across this great country of ours, people and property remain at risk from flooding and these floods will continue to occur because floods are natural events. Twenty-thousand U.S. communities are in the floodplain, so we are going to see these issues continue."

Before Hurricane Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers planned to upgrade 303 miles of levees in the area surrounding New Orleans. Story Source, plus related stories and details.

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