David R Hoover, Architect, NCARB

Some Louisiana government officials, including the ex-governor, took a few trips over to the Netherlands to "research" how the Dutch spent billions of dollars to protect themselves from the water. When they returned, they were quick to ask the federal government for their own billions, but failed to disclose how the Dutch are now rethinking their water management. The Dutch have decided that it is better to live in harmony with the sea, instead of fighting her with large levees and gates. This is the foundation that New Orleans was built on (Notice how the older parts did not flood), and it is something that deserves another look. More info located in this NY Times article:   http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/arts/design/flood-control-in-the-netherlands-now-allows-sea-water-in.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0     DRH Design http://www.drhdesign.com

I was listening to another podcast from NPR that further elaborated on how the Dutch are taking water management in another direction. They are now building floating slabs with flexible utilities in flood plain areas as well as inside the protected levee areas (that will no longer be expanded). The government is also paying people with farm land to use their property as an overflow, which tends to work better than trying to contain the rivers, and being surprised when the levee breaks. The point being for New Orleans is that it is a lot cheaper to work in harmony with nature, then trying to control her. That way, Louisiana can pay for her own water management, instead of relying on the rest of the country and the government.     DRH Design http://www.drhdesign.com

There are now a lot of reports on the failures of the Levees in the New Orleans area on the television and on the internet, and now the talk seems to be moving at how much money Louisiana should be given to build more levees around the small isolated communities in the South and to reinforce or rebuild the levees around the New Orleans area. Why do we think that this is a good idea? I am not sure. From working in this area, I have seen what it takes to build a deep foundation for the mid to high-rise buildings in the CBD, and the one that is certain is that you will be driving piles a few hundred feet to hit anything "substantial" (I use this very loosely) and create enough friction from the surrounding swamp to hold the structure up and create a matt slab to basically float the building. If you have ever lived her or driven around town, you will always notice that the driveways to the residential garages are always a foot or so lower, so that the occupants can not even dr...