KATRINA FOUR YEARS LATER Status of Coastal Wetland Restoration Projects

Restoring the wetlands can help prevent future flooding in New Orleans

Four years have passed since Katrina ravaged New Orleans. Immediately following the hurricane, investigators determined that historic loss of coastal wetlands played a major role in the depth of flooding that took place. Plans were soon drawn up to restore the protective barrier of wetlands along the coast that had for decades been destroyed by a range of human activities primarily relating to shipping and oil and gas interests. Given the importance of restoring these wetlands and the fact that they are still disappearing at a tremendous rate, it might shock some to learn how little has been done so far.

KATRINA FOUR YEARS LATER

Status of Coastal Wetland

Restoration Projects

By Johnnie Chamberlin

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2009 CONDUCIVE

In fact, four years later, the U.S. Government has still not completed any major coastal restoration work. The first batch of government funding for restoration projects was only just released earlier this year as part of the massive stimulus package. That no significant restoration funds were appropriated for several years following Katrina represents as great a failure as the Bush administration’s initial handling of the disaster.

While the handling of coastal restoration work over the last four years has been poor, some progress is now being made and hopefully more funding and work will be completed in the near future. Over the past several decades, Louisiana has lost an average of over 30 square miles of coastal wetlands annually. One of the primary causes of this loss was the construction of countless miles of navigation channels for the shipping of goods and transportation of oil and gas pumped nearby. One of the largest channels, the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal (MRGO), greatly contributed to coastal erosion and the flooding of New Orleans. The MRGO was finally closed earlier this year, though questions remain about the effectiveness of simply placing a rock dam across the canal.

While federal funds will likely be tight for years to come, restoration projects need to start immediately if we hope to save the Gulf Coast and prevent future Katrina-scale catastrophes. To successfully restore and protect the coast, the federal government and US Army Corps of Engineers need to address all of the following:

1. Sediment Distribution

To create land where it has been lost will require massive amounts of sediment deposition. Before the levees, canals, and channels were built, the Mississippi River moved freely across its floodplain and deposited sediment all around its mouth creating the large low-lying areas where coastal wetlands exist. Navigation channels currently shunt much of the sediment carried by the Mississippi River out past the coastal shelf. A lot of sediment is also currently trapped behind dams upstream on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Finding ways to carefully move trapped sediment downstream and effectively distribute it to areas where wetlands are threatened or already eroded away is the only way to halt the loss of our coast and begin to rebuild it.

2. Closure and Filling of More Navigation Channels

In order to slow erosion and ensure much-needed sediment isn’t washed uselessly out to sea the government needs to close and fill many more navigation channels. Blocking off the MRGO was a big first step, but a quick look at satellite imagery of the area shows there are thousands of miles of erosion causing channels still in use.

3. Address Climate Change and Rising Water Levels

Finally, all this work to restore low-lying coastal areas will all be for naught, if we fail to address climate change. Rising sea levels could reverse any progress made from the steps mentioned above. This image shows how much of Louisiana would be submerged from just a 3-foot rise in sea levels.

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