Louisiana To Examine Dutch Flood Control Projects

Louisiana officials are going to the Netherlands to study how the Dutch have handled their flood control issues. That should make for some interesting conversation, but I'd be more interested in whether the delegation has engineers and flood control experts than the politicians.

The Netherlands' ambassador invited Landrieu after Hurricane Katrina broke floodgates and levees, flooding most of New Orleans and all of neighboring St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, she said.

The storm's death toll so far is 1,326 in five states, including 1,077 in Louisiana.

"We've had this patchwork, catch-as-catch-can attitude from Washington," said Landrieu, D-La. "What we need to see is a nation that has really made flood protection a priority."

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and others have questioned whether areas 3 to 5 feet below sea level should be rebuilt or returned to marshland.

"The Netherlands is 21 feet below sea level," Landrieu said.

Several points should be made here - just because the Dutch decided to build 21 feet below sea level and have managed to do well in the 40+ years since their last major catastrophe doesn't mean that it was the right decision for them to build there. The Dutch decided that the rewards outweighed the risks.

Similarly, Americans have to decide whether the rewards outweigh the risks. Considering that most Americans have no problem moving closer to shorelines that are at risk each time a coastal storm churns up the coast, the risks aren't nearly as high.

However, there is something to Hastert's comments nonetheless. Some areas may need to be abandoned to wilderness to act as buffer areas - not because they're below sea level, but because development has encroached on areas that are too sensitive or were not built with hydrology and geodynamics in mind.

And, there's the question of how Louisiana will consolidate the levee boards so that they can eliminate the patchwork system and unify the flood control efforts. On that point, the Dutch have the advantage - they don't have local flood control - it's a national system.

UPDATE 1/9/2006:
The Glittering Eye and The Moderate Voice both note the Louisiana delegation heading to visit the Netherlands to meet with Dutch flood control experts.

UPDATE 1/9/2006:
Sisu also notes that the Dutch designed their flood control projects with a 10,000 year storm in mind whereas the Louisiana levees were built with a 50 year storm in mind (if that). She also worries about the priorities - spending $100 million to fix the Superdome could go a long way to doing the preliminary work on the improved levee system.