[StBernard] Levee Design

[Westley Annis]

Yes, Michoud managed the water with employees manning punps and wet vacs
throughout the facility.   However directly across from the Michoud Facility
on Poche Ct, those buildings had approximately 5 ft of water in them.  The
slabs of these buildings are as high as Old Gentilly Road  and still had
water when Michoud didn't which was the result of 38 employees that were
later commended for all of their hard  around the clock work keeping the
External Tank facility dry. 
 
A few days after the storm we knew first hand that Michoud was not flooded
so we assumed that all of our business files, equipment, muscle cars and
motorcycles stored across the street were OK.  Wrong, 5 ft. of water, but at
least not with oil or other chemicals in it.  The water there was clean so
to speak compared as to what was left at my house in Chalmette. But still 5
ft.
jd


	-----------------------------------------------------
	
	Deborah Keller wrote:
	
	Also a factor in levee height is wave run up. In some geographic
areas 
	the Corps assumes that the water will be still, such as an inland 
	canal, and in other areas there would be a wind driven wave running
up 
	the bankline or shoreline, so the levee protection has to be a
little 
	higher to take that into account and stronger to take the force of 
	impact from a wave.
	
	As a civil engineer, I'd prefer if we would all stop talking about 
	categories of Saffir-Simpson and be specific about the actual design

	central pressure, max. sustained wind speed, storm surge, wind 
	pressure, STORM PATH, and SPEED OF THE STORM ACROSS THE AREA.
	
	Also, the creators of Saffir-Simpson said after Katrina, that these 
	were approximations and that perhaps they need to re-think the
numbers 
	that fall in each category. In other words, maybe a Cat 3 storm 
	produces storm surges greater t han 18 feet.