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September 02, 2005
The Lost City of New Orleans?
Interesting article deeming New Orleans the New Atlantis, basically.
I wonder how extensive a civil engineering project it would take to signifcantly reduce the constant jeopardy the city finds itself in.
One problem is that New Orleans' soil is basically sponge-like, and allows surges of water to run through it. Surging water doesn't just spill over the levees; it passes beneath them, and up through the ground, when it becomes supersaturated with water.
In Boston's Big Dig project, they created a lot of slurry walls, deep into the earth. I wonder how expensive it would be to build the levees not just up but deep down as well. Or even if that could help.
I know I owe someone an h/t for this, but I forget who. I've had the article open for a while.