New Delta Could Protect Coast From Hurricane Damage

"Diverting parts of the Mississippi would create up to 1000 square kilometres of new wetlands between New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico, forming a vital storm surge buffer against hurricanes, researchers say. The formation of new delta lands could also help stem ongoing coastal erosion without disrupting important shipping traffic."

"'The scientific and engineering barriers are easily overcome,' says Gary Parker, a geologist and engineer at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, who developed the plan with colleagues. 'The big issue is political will'."

"The proposed diversion would cut breaches into a levee some 150 km south of New Orleans, Louisiana, and 30 km above where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico. With the diversions in place, flooding would cause the river to empty into shallow saltwater bays on either side of the river, releasing sediment-rich water to produce new deltas."

"A similar plan, presented to the state of Louisiana and the Army Corps of Engineers in 2005, before Hurricane Katrina flooded much of New Orleans, never gained political support. 'It was too bold, too aggressive, and too expensive,' Twilley says."