Tagged: Army Corps of Engineers

The Army Corps of Engineers plans a public meeting Tuesday on measures it is taking to mitigate the impact of wildlife habitat as construction continues on a levee and flood protection system in Plaquemines, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes.

The presentation and discussion are set for 6:30 p.m. at the Ernest Tassin Senior Center on Fourth Street in Westwego.

With the Mississippi River running at low levels, salt water is moving up from the Gulf of Mexico.

The Times-Picayune reports that denser, heavier saltwater flows upriver beneath fresh water flowing downstream when the river's flow drops below normal. The Army Corps of Engineers says salt water is not yet considered a threat to water supplies in the New Orleans area.

The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded an $18.6 million contract for drainage construction in the Industrial Canal area on Jefferson Parish's west bank.

The contract, an element of the Louisiana Urban Flood Damage Reduction Project, seeks to reduce flooding that might result from about 9 inches of rain falling over a 24-hour period.

The contract was awarded to Fleming Construction Co. of Jefferson Parish.

The 36-month project includes removing underground drainage pipes and replacing them with a reinforced concrete open channel.

An Army Corps of Engineers report has found debris buried in a levee built after Hurricane Katrina.

The levee protects the densely populated suburban West Bank neighborhoods across the Mississippi River from the main portion of the city.

The report says the levee meets the corps' design specifications and is not in danger of failure because of any unsuitable debris. But the report advises the corps to consider shoring up one portion of the levee built atop a "buried debris field."

Terrebonne Parish Levee District officials say a second-hand floodgate from Westwego could provide Pointe-aux-Chenes residents with some quick flood protection for a little money.

The Courier of Houma reports (http://bit.ly/NatJMM) that the 11-foot-tall barge floodgate was installed as stop-gap flood protection by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 while it finished a larger floodgate in Bayou Segnette. It is set to be removed in August.