June 29, 2011:
Army Corps of Engineers, West Bank authority update Jefferson Parish Council on debris in levees
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on June 29,2011:
After raising concerns earlier this month about chunks of wood
and other debris in diret used to raise several levees, the
West Bank levee authority said it is pleased with the Army Corps
of Engineers' response to the issue. To read full story, click here.
June 17, 2011:
Editorial: Make sure West Bank levees are delivered as promised
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on June 14,
2011:The West Bank levee authority is raising concerns about debris in dirt
being used to raise levees, and the agency should be vigilant on this issue. To
read full story, click here.
June 16, 2011:
West Bank levee work faulted for excessive debris in dirt
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on June 12,
2011:While inspecting a nearly finished levee south of Harvey on Monday,
West Bank levee authority officials spotted a chunk of wood protruding
near the levee’s crown, so they grabbed some shovels and started digging
and digging and digging. To read full story, click
here.
May 27, 2011:
Vessels coming too close to levee in river
WWL-TV's Dennis Woltering interviewed SLFPA-W president Susan Maclay
about barges that are coming dangerously close to the
levees on the West Bank. To read the full story, click
here.
May 19, 2011:
The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority – West (SLFPA-W) has postponed the briefing scheduled for May 25 at the Authority’s command center.
The SLFPA-W’s board of commissioners, management and staff have been actively engaged in the efforts to monitor the Mississippi River and protect the community. We expect those efforts, along with our regularly scheduled inspections and levee maintenance, to occupy our full attention in the foreseeable future.
We apologize for any inconvenience and will notify you when a new date for the briefing is scheduled.
May 17, 2011:
The State of Louisiana issued a statement reiterating the Emergency Regulations to Control Activity on Coastal Area Levees
Due to Flood Level Waters in the Mississippi River and Tributaries Causing an Imminent Threat to the Public
Safety and Welfare to the Citizens of Louisiana. To read the full
statement, please click
here.
May 13, 2011:
Mississippi River levee inspectors hunt for stealthy threats along banks
The following news clipping ran on teh front page of The Times Picayune on May 13,
2011: Throughout the day, a white SUV drives along the 33 miles of levee that hug the west bank of the
Mississippi River, separating its rising waters from Algiers and Jefferson Parish. The inspections contain
little of the drama that might be expected as water levels rise to near-record levels. There’s no talk of
water crashing over or through the levees that separate the raging river from surrounding communities. Both
the pressure of the river and the water level are being carefully monitored, and the tolerances of each of the
levees are well known. To read the full story, click
here.
SLFPA-West Successfully Equalizes Water Pressure
on Both Sides of the Mississippi River Levee at Algiers Point
The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West (SLFPA-W) successfully completed
its precautionary step of flooding the area between the old and new levees at Algiers Point.
Because of the high water levels of the Mississippi River, the Authority determined that equalizing the
pressure was necessary on both sides of the old levee to ensure the integrity of the bank of the main levee.
To the read the full release, click
here.
To view some
images from the media event today, click
here.
East and West Bank Levees – The Rising Mississippi
A presentation delivered by SLFPA-W President
Susan Maclay to the New Orleans City Council on May 11, 2011. View the slideshow
here.
March 25, 2011:
Editorial: A Federal Responsibility. The
following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on March 25,
2011:The West Closure Complex, a huge pump station and floodgate near the convergence of the Harvey and
Algiers canals, is crucial to the new level of storm protection that the Army Corps of Engineers has
promised to have in place by June 1.
(read more)
February 16, 2011:
17th Street Canal homeowners include Army Corps of Engineers in suit over levee property. The
following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on February 11,
2011:A group of homeowners along the 17th Street Canal have amended
their lawsuit charging that they’re not being paid for property used
in the rebuilding of floodwalls to add the Army Corps of Engineers
as a defendant.
(read more)
January 21,
2011:
Hurricane protection for West Bank just got a little
better.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on January 18,
2011:Marking
a milestone in construction of the world's biggest drainage pumping
station Friday, four large hoses draped over a cofferdam began
re-watering the area around the massive concrete structure south of
Harvey.
(read more)
January 10,
2011:
17th Street Canal
homeowners sue to stop floodwall project.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on January 10,
2011: Homeowners along the New Orleans side of the 17th Street Canal
have filed a civil suit in an attempt to stop the Army Corps of
Engineers from beginning construction on a project that will
strengthen floodwalls along the canal.
(read more)
December 21,
2010:
Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West introduces new electronic
newsletter. The
Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West launched its
first electronic newsletter at the end of November which is designed
to keep the community informed about the important flood protection
projects under way and share other news. Watch for the
January/February 2011 edition, which will be distributed in January.
We hope you find it helpful.
Click here
to read the newsletter.
December 7,
2010:
Editorial: Future
of our levees. The following editorial ran in The Times Picayune on
December 4, 2010: The metro New Orleans area is counting on the
completion of a more robust hurricane protection system by the
promised June 1, 2011 deadline, but our safety in future storms
depends on how well the system is maintained and operated in years
to come.
(read more)
November 29,
2010:
Upkeep a chink in
levee protection.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on November
28, 2010: Congress will no longer require the federal government to
help pay the cost of raising new hurricane levees when they subside,
a rule change that flood managers in Louisiana argue could make it
impossible to properly maintain the new system now being built.
(read more)
November 19,
2010:
Citizens urge task
force to approve third phase of Bayou Dupont wetlands restoration
project.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on November 18,
2010: Citizens this week urged the Breaux Act Task Force to add the
expansion of a wetlands-restoration project near Bayou Dupont to its
list of approved projects next year.
(read more)
November 10,
2010:
Army Corps of
Engineers to begin work on second East Jefferson berm contract.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on November 9,
2010: The Army Corps of Engineers today told a Kenner construction
company that it could proceed with a $22.5 million contract to
extend part of the East Jefferson shoreline to better protect from
storm surges and waves out of Lake Pontchartrain.
(read more)
October 26,
2010:
West Bank levee
work could come at expense of east bank projects.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on October 25,
2010: Federal engineers have devised a short-term plan for raising
some Mississippi River levees to reduce West Bank flood risks by the
next hurricane season, a need frighteningly evident during Hurricane
Katrina when the river churned with whitecaps, flowed backward for a
while and topped some levee sections below New Orleans.
(read more)
October 19,
2010:
Corps of Engineers plans to fix
unsafe levee and floodwall sections on the IHNC and GIWW.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on October 15,
2010: The Army Corps of Engineers plans to improve almost five miles
of levees and floodwalls along the Industrial Canal and Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway that don't currently meet the minimum
engineering and safety standards required in order for the hurricane
defense system to be certified under the National Flood Insurance
Program.
(read more)
October 6,
2010:
Gulf Intracoastal
Waterway Update. The following article appears in the October issue
of the West Bank Beacon: Construction of the massive Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) Western Closure Complex is now almost
40% complete overall, and conditions look good for the project to
provide interim 100-year protection from storm surge by the height
of next year’s hurricane season.
(read more)
September 8,
2010:
Corps begins installing massive new
pumps. The following news clipping ran in The Times
Picayune on September 5, 2010: This was no garden-variety potting
project. A towering 100-foot crane slowly lowered a 70-ton
flower-pot pump into one of the 11 bays at the world's largest
drainage pumping station under construction south of Harvey.
(read more)
August 30,
2010:
Defenses Upgraded,
but Some Seek More. The following news clipping ran in The Wall
Street Journal on August 28, 2010: NEW ORLEANS— If Hurricane Katrina
hit this city tomorrow, it would likely cause only light flooding,
according to U.S. government and other engineers.
A new ring of defenses costing nearly $15 billion—expected to be
completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next June—will provide
the Crescent City the best protection it has ever had from a storm,
the Corps and other experts agree.
(read more)
August 10,
2010:
Symposium Studies
Causes of a Changing Louisiana Landscape. The following article
appears in the August issue of the West Bank Beacon: A variety of
factors both past and present could be responsible for the evolving
landscape of south Louisiana and the state’s dramatic loss of land,
all according to experts assembled by the Southeast Louisiana Flood
Protection Authority-West (SLFPA-W) and other agencies.
(read more)
June 30,
2010:
Reason For Louisiana Flooding To Be Examined By
State's Top Geological Experts At Symposium. Top experts in
Louisiana geology will discuss the state’s flood protection system
at the fourth annual “Geological Facts of Life for Flood Protection
in Coastal Louisiana” symposium. The symposium is Thursday, July 15
at 1 p.m. in the West Bank council chambers of the Jefferson Parish
General Government Office Building on 200 Derbigny St. in Gretna.
(read more)
June 28,
2010:
The Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West held an open house in May
to unveil its state-of-the art command center and safe house. Click
here for more information and to view pictures from the event.
June 21,
2010:
Fourth Annual
“Geological Facts of Life for Flood Protection in Coastal Louisiana”
symposium scheduled for July 15 at 1 p.m.
(read more)
May 27, 2010:
West Bank levee
officials, Corps of Engineers unveil safe house. The following news
clipping ran in The Times Picayune on May 25, 2010: Five years ago,
with Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the metro area, workers with
the West Bank levee district weren't equipped to deal with the
disastrous conditions that lay ahead.
(read more)
May 25, 2010:
Corps of Engineers
awards contracts to stormproof three Jefferson Parish pump stations.
The following news clipping ran in The Times Picayune on May 24,
2010: The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded two contracts to
stormproof three drainage pumping stations in Jefferson Parish so
they can remain operable during and after tropical storm.
(read more)
May 5, 2010:
Bayou Segnette to GIWW. The following article ran in the May
issue of the West Bank Beacon: On a map, the portion of the West
Bank and Vicinity Hurricane Protection Project that begins at Bayou
Segnette and winds its way to the Harvey Canal has lots of twists
and turns, primarily because it is designed to protect major
population and business centers to the north and east as well as
environmentally sensitive marshes.
(read more)
