Public Works in Emergency Management Dr. Craig Colten Carl O. Sauer Professor Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana
ublic works was on display in a grand manner this past spring. As the Mississippi River carried exceptionally large volumes of water toward the Gulf of Mexico, the levees and the massive outlet systems on the lower river became the backdrop for the news media covering the flood threat. The earthen barriers largely fended off the high waters and there was no emergency on the lower river. But that is because of the long-term efforts to build a floodprotection system and substantial supplementary actions carried out to augment that system as the crest approached the delta.
a persistent problem. In response to major events, control of levee building shifted from citizens, to parishes, to the state, and by 1867, Congress assigned the duty to the Mississippi River Commission (MRC). It sought to bring greater consistency to the design standards and provide greater security, and thereby reduce risk. The MRC adopted a “levees only” approach and sealed off the numerous bayous and outlets that carried overflow water during high water. This required much stronger and taller levees. After battling a series of floods in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the MRC
declared the system was sound in 1926. The disastrous flood of 1927 proved their proclamation premature. It broke through the levees from Illinois to Louisiana, inundated over 20,000 square miles of land, forced over 600,000 valley residents to evacuate their homes, inflicted over $363 million in property damage, and killed at least 246 people. Since 1927, the design principles for the levee system have followed a “levees and outlets” approach. Construction of the Bonnet Carre and the Morganza Floodways has restored escape valves to the river
Levee building in Louisiana began during the French colonial period. Officials had modest berms constructed along the river front at New Orleans and enacted a policy that required landowners beyond the city to construct levees on their land. Thus the majority of the eighteenth century levees were built by private citizens. This made the levees somewhat inconsistent in design and effectiveness. Consequently, floods repeatedly overwhelmed these flimsy structures and resulted in all-toofrequent emergencies. Over the years, major floods prompted a rethinking of the flood control strategy. Levees afforded a degree of security, and lessened the emergency response, but levee failures were still common in the nineteenth century and damage to crops and property remained 40 APWA Reporter
January 2012
The Morganza Spillway was opened for only the second time in 2011. It diverted water through the Atchafalaya Basin to reduce the flow through the main channel of the Mississippi River. (Photo by Craig Colten)
