Last Saturday the city of New Orleans flooded again.Not really news right?It is a city basically built in the bottom of what would be a lake if it were not surrounded by levees and bailed out by massive banks of pumps.
But no,this isn’t so much a story about a flood as it is the massive stupidity that allowed the pumps to not be pumping as the rain fell.
First some history for those of you not familiar.New Orleans proper is surrounded by a protection system of storm barriers,levees and flood walls.The city is also crisscrossed with a canal network and at the ends of these canals are some massive pump stations designed to remove rain water at 1/2 inch (13mm) per hour.That is assuming the pumps are turned on.
Last Saturday a storm system moved through the area which produced some massive rain storms one of which hit the city and left in it’s wake 6 inches (150mm) of rain water in less than 2 hours.A lot of rainfall,but not even half of the record high.In times past when the system was ran by competent folks,those people knew that when a large storm was spotted heading in on radar the thing to do was turn the pumps on and pump down the water in the canal system giving them extra storage capacity and a cushion that would allow the system to stay ahead of the rain fall and keep the city from flooding.
This,time though none of that happened.The pumps didn’t come on,the rain fell and a whole bunch of people had their homes and cars flooded.People asked why weren’t the pumps running?The official lie was yes they were running,they just couldn’t keep up.Problem is many of the residents are smarter than that and know how the system works and since nearly every cellphone has a video camera on board there was positive proof within minutes that this was a lie.It’s hard to hide these pumps and their inlets from view after all.
So,next came the blame storming,the mayor was out of town at the time.This is (D)Mitch Landrieu brother of former (D) senator Mary Landrieu (ya that one).He was out of town at the time,Vail Colorado IIRC which is a vacation resort,but he wasn’t on vacation,righhhttt 
.Never fear he tweeted at about 9:00 PM that night for everyone to “stay off the roads”which wasn’t hard to do since most people’s cars and trucks in the affected area were drowned.
Then as the questions piled on came the head of the SWB,the sewage and water board who’s responsibility it is to man and operate the pumps.The head said on local TV that “well,uh,hmm,…oh! Climate change!-Next!
So today we hear a variety of theories ranging from Martians to Climate change to somebody’s cat was to blame and finally the last excuse,lack of money,which is probably spot on.Keep in mind this is the same city and mayor that spent money they didn’t have removing “symbols of racism and oppression” i.e. statues of dead white men from the public view,no doubt to be replaced with some liberal “art” installations,at a hefty cost to the taxpayers,what few there are left, in the city that has been ran into the ground by democrats since LBJ was president.
So there are IIRC 24 pumping stations around the city,all within 10 minutes driving distance,but the mayor announced there would be an investigation and a panel formed to find out why the pumps weren’t running.This instead of just getting in his car,driving to each one and just asking why the f–k weren’t they running????
Oh,wait,my bad,I forgot he’s an Obama worshiper,so obviously he is leading from behind,or maybe he’s just the ass that’s responsible?
Any rate,at least the people are doing what they are known for,meeting adversity with humor.One guy called in on a local radio show and said-“The reason the pumps weren’t running was Mitch Landrieu found out the pumps were painted white and had them taken down and stashed them with the Confederate monuments” 
Idiots,stupid,f–king idiots.
Your list of damage caused suggested to me that there could be another 19th Century “economics” explanation. It’s one both Lefties and GOPe (but I repeat myself again) are fond of. But if Landrieu likes breathing he won’t mention it.
It’s the one that declares the lunatic who goes around throwing rocks through windows is a hero because he spurs an economic boom for the window repairman and all those who supply him.
Ergo, look into what “hero” it was that actually ordered the canals not be emptied prior to the storm.
It’s possible,this is the same crew that believes welfare is an economic multiplier
Yes. You got it Darin.
Before answering “stupid or evil? when that crew is involved, always bias your scale on the evil side.
After all, this is the same party that welcomes nihilists under its big tent. Too bad it’s a figurative tent, because ….
Hmmm? You think maybe it’s not a good idea to have a city below water level? I’m not a wizard of smart, but my common sense says there may be problems. I know. I know. The Leftists running New Orleans since the end of the U.S. Civil War are so much smarter than dumb old me.
New Orleans is where it is because the French put it there,and really it only ever floods when the system is neglected,but as you say that happens because democrats.
It’s the same situation in NYC with Deblasio.The cost of public transportation is subsidized by street traffic instead of mass transit riders paying the full share.Now that the repair and maintenance fund is tapped out and the subway is breaking down every couple days the idiot has decided to “tax big business” to pay for the repairs.
…and if memory serves correct from my visit there – the area where the French built New Orleans is on high ground around the French quarter – This was a good call in the 18th century -and it was later that the various Democrat city regimes started building in areas below the water level.
This was a bad idea – a very bad idea! Especially when done by morons who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.
Anyhow, regardless of what they do over three fifths of New Orleans is going to sink beneath the waves at some point – I say let the Feds and the state back off and let what’s inevitable happen.
I say if you’re too stupid to understand where to build your house, it ain’t my problem when you get flooded out.
The French Quarter was the only high ground in the immediate area,originally that’s where the Indians in the region made their winter camp.
Later the French and Spanish came and they built the original city center on that same patch of ground.Many of the old buildings in the Quarter are built on top of cotton bales that were pushed down in the mud to firm up the foundation.
New Orleans being where it’s at and why it’s there has everything to do with it being a strategic port as well as the fresh water rive access for the heart of the nation.Last figures I heard 1/5 to 1/4 of the nation’s GDP flows into our out of the Greater New Orleans area,so there are plenty of reasons why the city will remain there for many years into the future.
Part of the problem was the damage done to the coastal barrier islands and marshes resulting from flood control efforts made the the Army Corps many years ago.The Mississippi river “ole muddy waters” lays down a massive amount of sediment everyday.The flood control efforts of the 30’s changed the river channel by confining the spring floods to the channel.
This had two effects,one it deposited the silt the river carried further down the river’s course and two it kept the Mississippi from changing it’s course which it has done at least five times in the last 5,000 years.
An interesting link-
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Portals/56/docs/PAO/Brochures/OldRiverControlBrochure.pdf
I live approximately 70 miles northeast of NOLA on the first true high ground which is just over the Mississippi state line.There is a small river there at the line,the land to the north was lain down some 20,000,000 years ago and is stable compacted inorganic red clay with limestone bedrock and it’s 180 feet above sea level.The land south of the river is less than 12,000 years old and is mainly grey organic clay with numerous sand and gravel bed formations washed down at the end of the last ice age.
New Orleans has it’s problems,but before LBJ and his “great society” bullshit it was a thriving industrial metropolis with a unique people and culture from being one of the oldest cities in the nation with a history spanning back 300+ years.Founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha indian tribe in 1714 it pre-dates the US by a few years and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
When you think about it,it’s no worse than putting a city on top of an active geologic fault line or three like Los Angeles,San Fran and Seattle.
Make Mickey Mouse Mayor, he would do a better job.
Just hang a few – pour encourager les autres.
The only problem with that noble idea is that the survivors of an American Leftist purge will hop planes and ships to head for New Zealand, which they believe is paradise.
The history of drainage canals and pumping station stations in New Orleans is an absorbing subject for those interested in engineering. Particularly the huge screw pumps developed by A. Baldwin Wood in 1913.
https://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/levees/Historical%20Background%20on%20the%20New%20Orleans%20Drainage%20Canals-pt2.pdf
An interesting and talented man. He died in 1956.
A keen sailor, this description of his demise is quite touching.
On May 10, 1956, the 77-year-old engineer Baldwin Wood set sail from Biloxi to Horn Island, Miss., accompanied only by his dog.
What happened next was later described in a letter by charter boat operator Captain Louis Gorenflo:
There was a spanking southeaster blowing, and just after I had cleared the harbor I saw the Nydia … She was beautiful on that port tack, and as Mr. Wood sailed across my port bow, he gave me that customary wave. Moments later the boat rounded up into the wind, and I saw this graceful maneuver executed as only he could do it. As he stood up to change sides, I saw him move to a kneeling position, pause for a while with his chin resting on the tiller, then slump gracefully to the deck of the cockpit.
Baldwin Wood had made his final voyage.
Good link, and a fine way to go for Mr. Wood.
Mr Wood was a fine engineer responsible for more than just the screw pump.
That Yellow Fever epidemic of 1877 is responsible for me having some Jewish ancestry.That epidemic mainly killed people of reproductive age.Before that New Orleans was a mix of Spanish,French,British,Scottish,Irish,German,Indian (feather,not dot) and Black,but each had it’s own mostly homogeneous culture and generally didn’t mix that much.
After the epidemic hit,young able bodied people of marrying age were in short supply,so people met and married outside their own groups by necessity.
My great grandfather was German/Dutch and Protestant and he met and married the young lady that would be my great grandmother who was French/English and Jewish. When we say America is a melting pot,we mean it
And it gets worse-
http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2017/08/new_orleans_drainage_power_sup.html
“New Orleans’ 119-year-old drainage system relies on two types of power: An unusual 25-cycle system that predates World War II and a more modern, 60-cycle source mostly supplied by Entergy. The Carrollton power plant has four steam-powered turbines that generate the 25-cycle power: Turbines, 1, 3, 4 and 5. Turbine 2 was mothballed decades ago, a fact that caused some confusion in recent days as officials tried to provide information to the public.
The plant also has a fifth turbine, known as Turbine 6, that runs on natural gas and generates 60-cycle power. This powers the water and sewer systems as well as providing backup to Entergy when powering the drainage system.
That natural gas turbine was the only one working Thursday morning, Grant said. Turbines 3 and 5 lost power in May and July, respectively, and are still under repair. Turbine 4, which was badly damaged during the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina, has been down since 2012. It’s undergoing a complete refurbishment that’s expected to be completed in December.
Turbine 1 caught on fire Wednesday night, leaving Turbine 6 to shoulder the load.
“We are running on our last backup power source,” Grant said. ”
Shakes head,walks away