broadmoorimprovement.com

[McBride]

I obtained the operating manual for the floodgates this week. The manual details the criteria and timeline which the Corps will use when closing the gates. I strongly suggest you become familiar with those criteria, especially in light of how much water will back up into Broadmoor when the gates drop.

It will be posted to the broadmoorimprovement.com website soon, but if anyone wants to see it before that, you can go over to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rebuild_lakeview/

If you have a Yahoo ID, join the group and go to the Files section, which is where you'll find the manual. I actually posted it to the files sections of five such neighborhood Yahoo Groups, but I'm recommending the Lakeview group because it is unmoderated.

If you don't have a Yahoo ID, create one. It's free and easy. If you like, after you download the file, you can delete the ID from Yahoo quite easily.

The manual has had the names and phone numbers of private individuals removed. It has also had the phone numbers of public officials removed. Also, it's been converted from Word to PDF. Otherwise, it is unaltered from what I received.

Matt

[startrekchess]

[McBride]

Yesterday, I reported the Society of American Military Engineers - an organization mostly made up of members of the Corps of Engineers - gave a member of the Corps' New Orleans District, Walter Baumy, a medal for his work post-Katrina. Today in an email from Bob Wolff, the head of SAME, I found out that the Corps themselves selects the recipient of the Wheeler Medal.

The medal ceremony was June 1 here in New Orleans. On June 1, none of the floodgates projects was completed. In fact, at 17th Street, there were no pumps at all, and there wouldn't be for another month.

You can find the moment of the presentation here:

http://posts.same.org/JEETCE2006/images/AwardsCeremony/Baumylarge.jpg

The gentleman on the right is Mr. Baumy. The gentleman on the left is Major General Ronald Johnson, the Deputy Commanding General and Deputy Chief of Engineers of the Corps of Engineers. He is just one step below the head of the Corps, which was Lt. General Strock until yesterday.

You can email Mr. Wolff here:

rwolff@Same.org

Do so if you also think this award is a really bad idea.

How the Corps could think giving itself an award for a few months of uncompleted Katrina repairs, for fixing their own mistakes that led to 1600 deaths, is beyond politically tone deaf. It's absolutely insane.

Matt

[startrekchess]

A little background for letter writers, to counter the standard 'it was for years of hard labour' replies:

http://www.eng.tulane.edu/FORUM_2003/baumy.htm

You should like these manuals he worked on, Matt:

Mr. Baumy also worked as a team member that authored several design manuals including “Design and Installation of Pile Foundations,” “Design of Sheetpile Walls,” “Design of Hydraulic Concrete Structures and the Corps guide specifications for Design and installation of Concrete Piles.” He also served in the positions Chief of General and Environmental Design Section, and Chief of Civil Branch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPR 8/30/05 Not so easy listening Relevant bit:
Walter Baumy is chief of engineering for the New Orleans district. If you have sandbags and live in the area, give him a call.

[jmuskratt]

Media gad about town Matt was on CBS *National* news last night.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=1936847n

Finally, looks like someone listened..albeit for 2 minutes.
_________________
Adolph "Duffy" Voigt

[Seeker]

An additional note regarding Matt's appearance on the CBS news, is his segment is entitled "Flood Protection Problems". Hopefully this will make your searching for it a bit easier.

[jmuskratt]

[McBride]

Broadmoorians,

Col. Wagenaar said on WLAE's "Road to Recovery" last evening that the Corps may soon be dropping the Safe Water Levels on the outfall canals (currently five feet on London Ave and 17th Street and 8 feet on Orleans Ave). Specifically, he was speaking about London Ave, saying there would be an announcement early next week, strongly implying the level in that canal would drop another foot, to four feet. But he also said they were looking at the levels in all three canals.

As a reminder, the Safe Water Levels are the maximum depths above which the water in the three outfall canals (into which all the rainwater that falls in New Orleans west of the industrial canal must eventually flow) cannot rise due to Katrina damage. It is measured in feet above sea level. It is far below the original design heights of water in the canals, which is plain evidence of how underdesigned those canal walls and levees were. Broadmoor's water goes out to the lake along the 17th Street canal.

Col. Wagenaar talked about a bunch of "remediation" measures that could be taken on the canals, including totally coating the interiors with concrete or reinforcing the walls. Those would be long term solutions, despite his saying they would be short term measures. It brings up the question, once again, of what happened to the $29 million the Corps wanted to spend reinforcing the canal walls back in January, and why they didn't bother doing so?

He also finally admitted publicly that the Safe Water Levels are based on any water flow, whether its storm surge coming in from the lake or pumping rainwater out.

If the SWL's drop any further, I believe we'll be looking at definite permanent pumping capacity reductions, whether the gates are open are not (if we're not already looking at them now). That is because the S&WB will not be able to pump enough rainwater down the canals without approaching the SWL's and threatening a breach.

This also brings up all kinds of other questions:

1) If the SWL is dropped to four feet, and the temporary pumps at the gates operate best between 2 and 4 feet, what do you do with those pumps? Drop all of them a foot (the gates manual specifically says to keep the canal water level one foot below the safe water level)?

2) How does this impact S&WB pumping during major rainstorms when the gates are open?

3) Why is this coming about now? Is it the result of a study, or simple tardiness?

Matt

[startrekchess]

Can't answer the rest, but as for this:

[startrekchess]

Matt, this may be a stupid question, but at this point, why doesn't the Corps just plan for enclosed canals, necessitating mainly pipe building and a few connective tweaks, and providing greater 'security' since that seems to be the government's main issue?

Do you know how fast they build pipes for oil?

[prwalter]

Basically I think what we are seeing is that the Corps cannot endure ANY risk of canal levee breaches -- levees that were junk to begin with, and are still mostly junk. I suspect that if there is rainwater flooding the Corps can try to push the blame to the S&WB, and vice-versa. And the Corps can say, "hey at least there was no levee break and no 'catastrophic flooding', except of course in areas like Broadmoor, that are well below sea level anyway".

I suspect THE long term solution is to have large well-made underground culverts, a-la Napoleon avenue, plus the permanent pumping stations at the lake. I would think they could build it much faster than they did on Napoleon, since they don't have to excavate a neutral ground of a busy thoroughfare to do it. I am sure it is all about MONEY -- who would pay for the huge box-culverts-on-pilings? Let's hope it does not come down to the Corps doing another one of its famous Cost-Benefit Analyses !!

If I were open to conspiracy theories, I would say that since C. Ray has not had led, there are "powers that be" who are working behind the scenes to try slow recovery by INDIVIDUAL land owners in low-lying areas, so that the "highlands" remain more valuable, and so that people in the "lowlands" will throw in the towel, and sell to the state, which will open up big redevelpment projects in a few years -- after which, low and behold the SWL's will be higher. Good thing I am not influenced by conspiracy theories

Go Matt -- keep up the good work! AND, nobody throw in the towel !! Meanwhile, don't buy a slab house to renovate, and if your house happens to need shoring anyway, see if you can get the contractor to raise it a foot or two (or more) without ruining your architectural intergrity. (Might not want to run out and finish that basement just yet, either )

Rodney

[prwalter]

The other thing that totally jumps out of the Safe Water Level proposed for the 17th Street Canal is that it will protect (non-Historic and lethargic) LAKEVIEW to the detriment of Broadmoor and Old Metairie. Lakeview drains mostly to the Orleans Canal, which has pretty undiminished capacity. I think another BIG factor here is that proposed 17th Street SWL protects (RED) Northeast "New" Metairie. I don't think we should underestimate or forget the power of New Metairie in this whole deal. If push comes to shove, it is hard for me to believe that we can prevail over the Lakeview and New Metairie interest in keeping the canal water shallow, until such time that they will be built into big culverts (if they ever are). Not to say that we should not fight the fight, (WE SHOULD), but we had BETTER also do some contingency planning -- specifically I would ask the question again -- what are going to do to prepare for the possibility that some time in the next 5-10 years, Broadmoor will end up with 2 - 3 feet of water in it? I think part of the answer is to return to our roots of raised houses that are floodproofed (storage) underneath. Either that or we need to find a way to team up with Old Metairie more effectively than we have. Or maybe we need to do both...

[startrekchess]

[McBride]

Broadmoorians,

I have independently confirmed from two sources some information about the Safe Water Levels in the 17th Street canal, and it's actually (mostly) good news!

According to the Corps, they will be raising the Safe Water Level one foot, to six feet, on the 17th Street Canal. How or why this is being done is unknown, but it is being done. This is good news because it means the likelihood of pumping restrictions on the canal during normal storms with the gates open is much less now.

However, it is not all good news. The SWL on London Avenue is still in flux, with the possibility of lowering still very much out there. A decision is expected early next week. The London Avenue canal drains areas all the way from UNO and Gentilly to the French Quarter, and everything in between. When one considers that even the final June, 2007 pumping configuration on that canal still leaves just half of the pre-Katrina pumping capacity, people whose rainwater goes in there are getting screwed royally by the Corps.

Matt

[startrekchess]