[StBernard] NOLA article

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Sun Mar 26 22:25:21 EST 2006



"St. Bernard Parish Council V ice Chairman Joey DiFatta said the issue
isabout more than just saving trees owned by Assistant District Attorney
GlennDiaz. DiFatta said parish officials who toured the site Friday are
convinced that having the corps raise that portion of levee is not the way
to go to improve flood protection in the area.
"When we looked at it, it didn't make sense to tear down all the trees,"
DiFatta said. The council voted 6-1 to rescind an earlier order authorizing
the corps to commandeer Diaz's property to raise the levee, as part of a
project financed by the federal government. Instead, the council's new order
commits the parish to paying for raising a road on top of the levee and
asking the corps to assist with realigning the levee."


Did I miss something----does Joey Difatta have an engineering degree? The
Corps of engineers may need the land where the trees are located for a
stability berm on the dry side of the levee. A stablility berm keeps the
levee from pushing back inland from the weight of water pushing on the flood
side of a levee. Also, in raising the levee, more soil needs to be placed
not just on top of it but down the sides. There is a certain angle at which
soils remain stable without sliding down. If you go up and not out in
constructing the levee, it would increase the angle and therefore the
likelihood that the soil may slide down. Someone who is not knowledgeable
in Geotechnical/Civil engineering may not realize this. Putting that much
soil on the dry side of the levee would certainly kill the trees and they
would need to be removed anyway.

Michelle





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