re: New Orleans is flooding

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ETA: ALSO FAIL

are the pumps not working or are they just not manning them correctly? would love to know

I have 3 storm drains in direct vicinity of my property and none of them drain. They arent obstructed either. It's weird

I dont know if its because i didnt realize heavy rain was in the forecast, but i feel like they were caught off guard.

Iirc, turbine 3 was down on Saturday and swb said they were using some type of alternative that was going to be very noisy.

how long do it take to get the pumps running.

prob shut it down yesterday thinking everything was over. we need to cancel swbno

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Iirc, turbine 3 was down on Saturday and swb said they were using some type of alternative that was going to be very noisy.

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that was at the Claiborne station...they said they were going to use the EMD's which are very loud diesel engines.. they are as loud as a locomotive

Im not flooding per se either, but the drain directly across the street from my house is sucking water, but the 3 in the direct vicinity of my house and just stagnant. It happens every rain event. 311 shows they were cleaned out in 2019. I have no explanation.

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remember when I say we never flood on big storms

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I 'member at least 1

In some cases the pipes leading from the storm drain are filled with tree roots limiting their flow significantly. They will back up and appear stagnated for a while at that point. They could also just be filled with other gunk and someone needs to actually clean the exit pipe not inside the storm drain. Taking a hose and blasting it through there basically.

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upgrade pumping capacity

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Pumps are only part of the problem.

Realistically, 3-4 inches in an hour will flood the best systems. If memory serves me correct, that's about a 10-year 1-hour storm. When I did design work down there, we'd shoot for handling 3.25" on-site. That's only for new construction. It doesn't do much good because 97% of the old properties in Nola have 0% storage capacity, so all of their water gets dumped into the public infrastructure.

The public infrastructure is a mess, to say the least. Subsidence has absolutely wrecked the subsurface drainage system. And the ironic thing is that our early success at draining the water is the main contributor to the flooding today. Even in a drought, the pumps are still pumping water. So much groundwater leaks in to the drainage pipes and canals and requires 24/7 pumping. This lowers the water table, which in turn allows oxygen to break down the organic components of the soil, which causes subsidence.

Say the system was designed to drain your street to the next street 100 years ago. Well, your street has now sunk more than the street you were draining in to, so you're now in a bowl with no where for your water to go, plus you're now taking on water from elsewhere. Doesn't matter if your catch basin is clogged or not, you're going to flood.

I don't believe the region is capable of saving itself. There are some very smart people who know the problems and know how to fix them, but they can't get any big-time players to buy in. Doesn't help that leadership in the entire metro area is a disaster. It will take people who are willing to forgo their next political term to make the right decisions today. People will be angry at them. It will cost everyone a lot of money and a lot of headaches, and it will cost the leaders votes because the time frame on construction is way longer than 4 year term.