Klarinet Archive - Posting 000026.txt from 2005/09

From: ormo2ndtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: [kl] ...about rebuilding in bowls....
Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2005 23:03:51 -0400

I live in a coastal town, and the area near our beach (perhaps 750-1,000
ft from the ocean) is a bowl, smaller than but similar to New Orleans'
situation.

This bowl flooded during severe rains when I was a kid. I remember
swimming in the streets, etc. (Great fun, in a child's perception.)

The town modified its building ordinances. Nowadays, in order to
rebuild anything in this bowl, you are required to fill your property
above sea level before you can do any construction. True, there have
been (still are, in a couple of cases) disputes because 'historic old'
properties which haven't been rebuilt would receive even more runoff
from their newly-elevated neighbors than previously. There
were=A0(still are) arguments about 'old historic' buildings losing their
ocean views, etc.

But the severity of these floods is much reduced nowadays. No more
boating or swimming in the streets.

Will New Orleans take a similar approach when they rebuild? Or will
they take the approach of: "It would be too expensive --- Property
owners won't invest in rebuilding if we require this --- Probably we
won't have another flood anyway --- Let's think about better levees for
another 10 years and let everyone rebuild below sea level in the
meantime"? Etc.

The answers to these questions are not clear cut, but New Orleans
certainly has the opportunity to consider them now because they can't
avoid doing a lot of rebuilding from scratch. Boston and New York have
faced similar problems during the last decade.

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