It's my understanding that the pumping system pumps water out of NO and into Lake Pontchartrain. Is that correct?

If they get the pumps working, will they be unable to pump because it'll simply spill over the Lake and back into NO?
anon | 08.29.05 - 11:03 am | #

Hahaha... that would be kinda funny (er, so long as, you know, the situation isn't life-threatening).

I dunno for sure, but I think that's right.
Brendan Loy | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:09 am | #

The mayor of NO is on TWC right now.
micki | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:16 am | #

He was cutting out a bit, but this is what I got.

Reports of about 150 people on roofs. Getting average of 5 calls/minute. 20 buildings have collapsed, but can't confirm if people were inside them.

They asked where he rode out the storm. He started out in City Hall, but started swaying too much. Went to a 'Major Hotel' nearby and was on the 27th floor. Then he went to the 3rd and 4th floor of the hotel after it expirienced swaying on the higher floors.
micki | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:21 am | #

Regarding the levee heights, here is a cross sectional map of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pa...o/response/ NGVD.

On the Lake Pontchartrain side, the levee height is 17.5 ft and the height of the levee on the Mississippi RiverBank side is 23 ft.

lr
leeza rodriguez | 08.29.05 - 11:30 am | #

Yikes.
Brian | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:30 am | #

On the Lake Pontchartrain side, the levee height is 17.5 ft and the height of the levee on the Mississippi RiverBank side is 23 ft.

That doesn't necessarily prove anything re: the water gauges, because who knows what "zero" is? It probably means "normal" ... so what is "normal"?
Brendan Loy | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:34 am | #

My guess of 'normal' would be what they showed of earlier footage before the storm got close. They showed the lake water level was actually higher than the houses (the ground part) very close to the lake.

They've been flashing that every once in a while on TWC.
micki | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:44 am | #

Looks like the lake is receding . . . thank God.
B. Minich, PI | Homepage | 08.29.05 - 11:49 am | #

try this link instead:
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pa...sponse/ NGVD.asp

According to the xsection it identified the normal lake level on the Pontchartrain side as 1.0 Ft in NGVD.

Avg annual highwater on the Mississippi River Bank side is 14 ft.

Do you think this implies that it supports at ~16 ft surge on the Pontchartrain side and a ~9 ft surge on the M. river side?

lr
leeza rodriguez | 08.29.05 - 11:55 am | #