Reports - WSTB

WSTB Reports

Second Report of the National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Projects (2006)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) was established in 2005 to conduct a broad evaluation of the performance of the New Orleans regional hurricane protection system during and after Hurricane Katrina. This letter report from the National Academies, the second in a series, evaluates the IPET's March 10, 2006 interim report (https://ipet.wes.army.mil/), which marks roughly the 70 percent completion point for the IPET studies. The letter report finds that while IPET has made impressive progress on many fronts in a short amount of time, several shortcomings must be addressed if the IPET final report is to provide credible science- and engineering-based findings that can serve as a basis for improving hurricane preparedness for the New Orleans region. A primary concern is the lack of a clear, systemwide picture of the New Orleans hurricane protection system in terms of the five IPET study objectives. For example, the IPET report presents only a limited picture of systemwide issues such as pre-Katrina design criteria and status and existing vulnerabilities within the hurricane protection system. To enable better systemwide evaluation, the report encourages the IPET to explore ways to use geographic information systems (GIS) as a unifying framework for its study. This would enhance technical analyses and public communication of key issues such as soils and geologic features, structural elements of the hurricane protection system, and regional storm surge and flood-related risks. The report also notes that, despite important progress in repairing damaged sections of the protection system, risks related to storm surges and flooding are inherent to the New Orleans region and will remain even after structural repairs and upgrades to the system.
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