Second Report of the National Academy of Engineering/National Research Council Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Projects (2006)

Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of much of the New Orleans metro area prompted many questions about the geotechnical and hydraulic conditions and performance of the city’s hurricane protection system. To help provide credible scientific and engineering answers regarding the performance of this system, an Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET) has been convened. The IPET effort is being led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The IPET is also working with a review team from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The IPET, which includes both federal and non-federal scientists and engineers, is divided into ten teams focusing on different topical areas*. The IPET is focusing its investigation on 3 primary topics: a) design capacity of the hurricane protection system, b) forces exerted against the system and system response, and c) factors that resulted in overtopping, breaching, or failure of levees and floodwalls. The IPET report on the structural performance of the hurricane protection system is due on May 1, 2006 (the final IPET report on the entire study is due on June 1, 2006).

This NRC/NAE committee will focus its review on the following tasks:

1. review the data gathered by the IPET and the ASCE teams and provide recommendations regarding the adequacy of those data, as well as additional data that will be important to the IPET study and should be gathered;

2. review the analyses performed by the IPET and ASCE to ensure their consistency with accepted engineering approaches and practices;

3. review and comment upon the conclusions reached by the IPET and ASCE teams, and;

4. seek to determine lessons learned from the Katrina experience and identify ways that hurricane protection system performance can be improved in the future at the authorized level of protection.

The NRC/NAE committee will issue three reports:

1. a preliminary, letter report that comments on the adequacy of the nature of the data being collected by the IPET and ASCE teams (due in February 2006);

2. an interim report that represents the midpoint of the committee’s evaluation and project (due June 1, 2006), and;

3. a final, comprehensive report (due in September 2006) that summarizes the committee’s evaluation of the IPET/ASCE report on structural performance of the hurricane system.

The timeline for these three NRC/NAE reports conforms to plans regarding IPET report progress. IPET reporting meetings are scheduled for January 2006 (30%), March 2006 (60%), and May 2006 (90%). The first two NRC/NAE reports will be drafted and issued following the review and evaluation of the IPET 30% and 60% completion reports, respectively. The third NRC/NAE report will be based upon the IPET/ASCE report (due May 1, 2006) on structural performance of the hurricane protection system.