Corps Study Urges New Wall For Kenner

What about New Orleans?

The best method of defending Kenner's western flank from storm surges out of Lake Pontchartrain is to build a taller, sturdier wall near the existing West Return Canal floodwall, a new engineering analysis suggests.

Under that scenario, a new wall likely would be erected some 35 feet west of the current structure along the canal's east bank, which engineers said would have to be enlarged to enable construction.

The engineering study is part of the Army Corps of Engineers' commitment to provide 100-year protection throughout southeast Louisiana by 2011. In the case of the West Return Canal, corps engineers have already concluded that the existing wall -- finished in the early 1990s -- is not high enough to meet the new 100-year standards.

New Orleans' residents need protection from much more than storm surges.