US Army Corps Says Feds Should Fund $3.2 Billion Levee Upgrade

WWNO New Orleans Public Radio

By BETSY SHEPHERD

A new study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the federal government should spend $3.2 billion to maintain the levee system around New Orleans over the next 50 years. The study recommends raising the levees and upgrading the flood protection systems in order to match the rising sea levels and sinking land.

In the Lower Ninth Ward, news of future flood risks puts residents on high alert.

“We have the Industrial Canal, we have the Mississippi River on one side and Bayou Bienvenue on the other, and so we’re three-quarters surrounded by water and we need to be protected,” says Arthur Johnson, head of the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Read the full story here.

Arthur Johnson of CSED is a C-LEARN community partner.