There were two important articles in the Bee yesterday about flood protection.
One reminds us of what we need to do, which is seek the best flood protection possible, and the other reminds us of why we haven’t already done that, because some public leaders are willing to settle for less than the best, even in the context of the horror we witnessed from New Orleans.
The first article, Louisiana has some advice for us, notes: “Joe Suhayda, a Baton Rouge resident and former director of the Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute…urged that communities ... set their bar high, for 500-year flood protection or more, and insist on a commitment to reach that level.
The Netherlands and Japan aim to provide coastal residents with 10,000-year flood protection, some point out, but costs are steep. Massive upgrades to the Dutch system of dams, dikes and seawalls after a 1953 flood cost an estimated $8 billion to build and $500 million annually to maintain, according to news reports.”
The full article is at: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/13657285p-14500103c.html
The Dutch and the Japanese have chosen the best protection possible and don’t buy into a settling-for-less-than-the-best approach the next article promotes, the type of thinking which doomed New Orleans.
The second article is entitled Flood reality [Folsom] dam is the key, where the writer says: “Some well-meaning people have argued that we need 500-year protection. Maybe we do. But, that's irrelevant now since there is no authorized project nor funding on the horizon to provide the 500-year level of protection. On the other hand, 200-year protection is within our grasp."
The full article is at:
