Report finds significant improvements since Hurricane Katrina

BOSTON, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- GEI Consultants, Inc., a national water resources, geotechnical, environmental and ecological science and engineering firm, announced today that firm Principal R. Lee Wooten, P.E., a civil engineer with geotechnical concentration, recently co-lead a team of civil engineers to New Orleans, Louisiana to assess levee performance following Hurricane Gustav. Wooten was also the principal author of the group's report, "Reconnaissance of the New Orleans Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System after Hurricane Gustav," which was published in February 2009.

The reconnaissance team was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Geoengineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, and was hosted in New Orleans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District and the Mississippi Valley Division. Wooten was joined by fellow engineers Robert B. Gilbert, Ph.D. (co-team leader, The University of Texas at Austin), P.E., William F. Marcuson, III, Ph.D., P.E. (W.F. Marcuson III & Associates, Inc.); Leslie F. Harder, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., G.E. (HDR Incorporated); and Peter G. Nicolson, Ph.D., P.E. (University of Hawaii at Manoa).

The team toured nine sites along the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Gulf Inter-coastal Waterway, and the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal, as well as a non-federal back levee in Plaquemines Parish. Their observations, along with data collected from the Corps and news sources, form the basis of the report.

The team concluded that the federal levees around New Orleans performed well under the surge and wave stresses generated by Gustav, but that, even with improvement to the levees, southern Louisiana remains vulnerable to hurricane flooding. The report notes that storm surges larger than those created by Gustav and Katrina should be anticipated and that bringing the hurricane protection system up to a level appropriate for protection of the New Orleans area will take years, if not decades, to achieve.

"The recent major improvements to the hurricane protection system around New Orleans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since Katrina prevented major damage from the Gustav storm surge. Further improvements to the levee systems and flood controls in Louisiana, and nation-wide, are needed to protect urban areas like New Orleans from larger future storms," said Wooten. "I was honored to have worked alongside the GEER reconnaissance team members. We are grateful to the Corps of Engineers for the openness and access that they provided to us."

Findings from the team's published report highlight the vast scope of work that has been completed and will continue until 2011 when the region's 100-year protection levels are scheduled to be complete. The report also includes key lessons learned for flood protection systems:

• Large floating objects (such as barges) could impose a risk to the floodwalls. Timely clearing of major waterways will be crucial in preparation for future storms.
• Protection of life in the southern Louisiana area will require continued emphasis on evacuation.

The published report is available for download at: http://research.eerc.berkeley.edu/projects/GEER/GEER_Post EQ Reports/Gustav_2008/Cover_Gustav2008.html

As a recognized national levee expert, GEI Consultants has devoted a major portion of its resources to the evaluation, remediation, and improvement of the nation's flood control levees and dams, and is involved in all engineering aspects in many of the largest active flood control projects. Recently, the firm has provided complex evaluations of levees of the Connecticut River system (Conn. and Mass.), the Sacramento River system (Calif.), and the San Joaquin River system (Calif.)

Lee Wooten previously participated as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers Geo-Institute team that performed reconnaissance of the New Orleans area levees immediately following hurricane Katrina in October 2005.

About GEI Consultants, Inc.

GEI's multi-disciplined team of engineers and scientists deliver geotechnical, environmental, water resources and ecological solutions to diverse clientele nationwide. The firm has provided a broad range of consulting and engineering services on over 25,000 projects in 50 states and 22 countries. For more information, please visit the firm's web site at www.geiconsultants.com.

SOURCE GEI Consultants, Inc.

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