Corps Drainage Project March 17, 2004

Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans

	Sewerage & Water Board Of New Orleans Community & Intergovernmental Relations Department 625 St. Joseph Street, Room B-47 New Orleans, Louisiana 70165 504-585-2175
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 17, 2004
Corps of Engineers Adds Crucial Drainage Project to SELA Flood Protection Program

Mayor Ray Nagin, president of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, said today that a commitment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to add a crucial canal renovation project to the SELA drainage program will help the Board improve flood protection for thousands of citizens in an area which has experienced flooding in the past.

Col. Peter J. Rowan, district engineer for the Corps New Orleans District, notified the Mayor that the $60.5 Florida Avenue Canal Project has been added to a Cooperative Agreement for urban drainage improvements originally entered into by the Corps and the Board in 1997.

Mayor Nagin said, "This extension of our partnership with the Corps is an excellent example of how local and Federal agencies can work together for the benefit of home and business owners throughout the City. The Board's engineers identified this project as crucial, and the Corps worked hard to make this a reality.

We appreciate the opportunity to continue our partnership now and in the future."

Construction will begin in 2005, pending the availability of Federal funds.

The project consists of enlarging approximately 6,700 linear feet of the Florida Avenue Canal from the intake canal of Drainage Pumping Station No. 19 (DPS 19), located near the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, to Deers Street.

It also includes improvements to the Peoples Avenue Canal from its intersection with the Florida Avenue Canal and extending approximately 500 linear feet north of the intersection and improvements under Desire Street, Montegut Street, Deers Street, Eads Street, Painters Street, Abundance Street, Treasure Street and Benefit Street.

Major features of the project are: The existing Florida Avenue Canal, a 25-foot wide by 7-foot deep concrete flume, will be realigned and replaced with a 40-foot wide by 13-foot deep concrete flume from the intake at DPS 19 to the Peoples Avenue Canal.

The lower 500-feet of the Peoples Avenue Canal will be realigned and widened from existing 17-foot wide concrete flume to a 25-foot wide concrete flume.

The project will provide additional flood protection to the Peoples Area Sub-basin, approximately 7,870 acres, located in an area bounded by the Mississippi River to the south, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal to the east, Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the London Avenue Outfall Canal to the west.

Preliminary studies estimate the total cost of construction, including engineering, at approximately $60.5 million. The Federal Government, as part of the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (SELA), will pay for 75% of the total cost. The Sewerage and Water Board, the non-Federal project sponsor, will pay for 25% of the total costs.

The SELA program in Orleans Parish is estimated to cost $256 million. Recently completed projects include new canals beneath a sections of S.Claiborne and Napoleon avenues and new pumps at Station One in Broadmoor, Projects nearly completed include canals beneath an additional section of Claiborne, new canals and a new pumping station in Hollygrove.

Work is underway for new Dwyer Road canals and a new Dwyer Pumping Station.

The Peoples Area Project, "the Florida Avenue Project", will provide additional flood protection to the Peoples Area Subbasin, approximately 7,870 acres, is located on the East Bank of Orleans Parish in the area bounded by the Mississippi River to the south, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal to the east, Lake Pontchartrain to the north, and the London Avenue Outfall Canal to the west.

The overall project consists of consists of enlarging approximately 6,700 linear feet of the Florida Avenue Canal from the intake canal of Drainage Pumping Station No. 19 (DPS 19), located near the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, to Deers Street.

The project also includes improvements to the Peoples Avenue Canal from its intersection with the Florida Avenue Canal and extending approximately 500 linear feet north of the intersection and improvements under Desire Street, Montegut Street, Deers Street, Eads Street, Painters Street, Abundance Street, Treasure Street, and Benefit Street.

The lower 500-feet of the Peoples Avenue Canal will be realigned and widened from existing 17-foot wide concrete flume to a 25-foot wide concrete flume.

Preliminary studies estimate the total cost of construction, including engineering, at approximately $60.5 Million. The Federal Government, as part of the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (SELA), will pay for 75% of the total cost. The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, the non-Federal project sponsor, will pay for 25% of the total costs.