Pumping water out of New Orleans a Herculean task, say experts

Article : Pumping water out of New Orleans a Herculean task, say experts
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In helping my 7th grade math students work with large numbers they have determined that it would take approximately 30 days to pump 1 square mile of water 8 feet deep with a pump tht pumps 7,200,000 gallons a day.

The pump was a 5,000 gallons a minute estimation

I live in an area with flood plains and I am currently watching development take place there. I marvel at the lack of wisdom these people are displaying by building expensive homes in an aesthetically pleasing, yet deadly environment. A decade ago I saw the entire area completely under water and it will most likely happen again before this decade is over. If New Orleans is rebuilt, it is very likely the same thing will happen again in the future. It is simply unwise to rebuild New Orleans in its current location.

If the citizens and government of New Orleans are adamant about rebuilding, perhaps they should consult with a region that has a longer history of successful living below sea level. The Netherlands would be a place to start.

The equipment is available to get the water pumped out and get the job done.

Do not drain this water until it is treated with huge amounts of lime. Lime is cheap and it will purify the water. This info comes from Tracy Copeland of Ruston La. Why would you want to drain this filth into clean waters? Please rethink what you are doing.

What did the Bible say about the man who builds his house on sinking sand?

I say leave everything where it is and move inland 50 miles and build a new city above sea level. It's cheaper and safer in the long run. Let it become barrier islands for the New New Orleans.

Great Salt Lake Pumping Project

The Great Salt Lake

Construction of the West Desert Pumping Project was an unprecedented flood control action on the Great Salt Lake, the largest body of water in the Western Hemisphere without an outlet to a sea. The project, designed to enhance the lake's natural evaporation process, was constructed in record time. Construction began on July 7, 1986. The first of the project's three pumps began operating on April 10, 1987. The project was fully operational on June 3, 1987.

Between fall 1982 and June 1987, the level of the Great Salt Lake rose over 12 feet, the tail-end of a steady rise of nearly 20 feet between 1963 and 1987. The lake had more than doubled its surface area and increased its volume three-fold. The lake level reached a modern-day record 4211.85 feet above mean sea level in 1986 and 1987, surpassing the historic high of 4211.60 set in June 1873. At the new record level, the lake covered almost 2,400 square miles and contained over 30 million acre-feet of water. For perspective, its expanse was only about 487 square mile less than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, and the lake contained an acre-foot of water for every resident of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The Great Salt Lake went on a costly, destructive rampage with its hoarded inflow from record amounts of snow and rain in Northern Utah. Shoreline flooding caused an estimated $240 million in damages to Interstate 80, mineral industries, railway systems, sewage treatment plants, wildlife habitat, recreation areas, and public and private property.

Weather experts could predict no immediate change in the weather, which led to fears that Interstate 80 would be lost to flooding, requiring a new, rerouted freeway. The Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads considered shutting down operations because of flood damage. Fears grew that the Salt Lake International Airport would stop flights because runway drains were starting to fill up. The Great Salt Lake appeared out of control

Construction and operation of the West Desert Pumping Project was controversial, and it spawned considerable public and political debate about costs and alternatives to pumping lake brine. Concern about the damage caused by the Great Salt Lake was widespread, but many people harbored hope the lake would heal itself. The project, however, eventually won approval from the Utah State Legislature by a substantial margin as the most cost-effective and technically sound solution with the greatest public benefit. Project engineers faced and overcame unique challenges, including the harsh environment of the Great Salt Lake, remoteness of the Pumping Plant, and difficult access to construction areas. The project was nominated for the prestigious Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers and won the society's Civil Engineering Achievement of Merit Award.

A total of $71.7 million was authorized for flood control efforts during a special session of the 1986 Utah State Legislature, including $60 million to the Utah Division of Water Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, to implement the project to pump water from the Great Salt Lake into the desert area west of the lake.

The pumping project was shut down on June30, 1989, after more than two years of successful operation. The project pumped about 2.73 million acre-feet of brines from the lake. The shutdown process took about eight weeks, requiring the Pumping Plant to be secured and dismantling, preserving and storing tools and system control devices.

Since the project was shut down, the Pumping Plant has been inspected periodically and maintained as insurance against future flooding around the Great Salt Lake.

I guess the subject says it all. Where is all that poisonous soup going to be dumped?