Restoring and Protecting New Orleans and Coastal Louisiana: Harmonizing the
Efforts of Engineers, Scientists, Politicians and the People.
The 32nd Congress of IAHR “Harmonizing the Demands of Art and Nature in Hydraulics”
GE Galloway
The tragic loss of life, the devastating property damage, and the acceleration of the loss
of coastal wetlands during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina attack on the U.S. Gulf Coast
highlighted the tenuous ability of the human race to occupy fragile landscapes subject to
ever-changing climate and geomorphic conditions. The economic, cultural and ecologic
importance of the region led to both pre and post-Katrina analysis of the engineering that
stood behind the protection system for New Orleans and the planning that was underway
for the restoration of coastal Louisiana. These efforts are raising question about the
methods that had been used to provide flood protection and the processes that caused
them to be carried out, as well as the science behind what would be a $14-20 billion
program to restore badly damaged coastal wetlands. They also brought into question
human occupance of areas below sea level. The people of Louisiana are determined to
move forward with revitalization of this economic, cultural and transportation center of
the middle South and to restore the natural processes that centuries ago produced the
largest coastal wetland area in the contiguous United States. Retrospectives have
indicated the friction that has existed over the years among engineers, physical scientists,
social scientists, the public, special interest groups, and politicians in setting goals for use
of this landscape. The challenge ahead is to develop processes that will enable these
diverse groups to harmonize their visions of a future in a science-based approach to
restoration and protection of coastal Louisiana that will be environmentally sustainable,
financially supportable, and risk manageable. Such harmonization will occur only if the
diverse groups are brought together and are willing to deal with the stark realities of the
challenges they will face in solving the problems of this fragile physical and cultural
environment.