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The flooding that is (was?) occurring in Miami was largely the result of a poorly designed rain-drain system, one which was installed with little to no back-flo

The flooding that is (was?) occurring in Miami was largely the result of a poorly designed rain-drain system, one which was installed with little to no back-flow prevention. This new system, which was put in place into allow rainwater to flow into the ocean more easily and so prevent flash flooding, unfortunately also allowed the ocean to easily flow back into the streets when conditions were right and so caused tidal flooding instead. This was all covered in detail in the press at the time the problem first started occurring, and of course it made everyone involved look really bad. But then someone came up with "climate change" as the cause instead, so now the guilty parties had something to hide behind. The press had a field day with it, too, using it as "proof" of dangerously rising sea levels. The attempted solution here (which is why I said "was?") was to install drainage pumps much like the type you find in New Orleans, because apparently going back and adding the proper back-flow prevention devices was going to be too involved and too expensive. But, of course, just as soon as those pumps were activated people started complaining about how they were polluting the ocean. In fact, they probably aren't putting anything into the ocean that wasn't already going there eventually anyway; they just made the situation more obvious.

pfisch 7y ago
New Orleans is itself in a rapidly deteriorating state. I lived there for over 30 years, and it has gotten progressively worse and worse over time. There are now frequent periods where you have to boil your water before you can use it, and it floods in a hard rain which didn't really happen 10 years ago. I guess what I am saying is I don't believe you, and most of New Orleans going into the ocean as well. New Orleans and Miami will just slowly deteriorate over time and people will stop investing in these places because it isn't worth the flood risks. Eventually New Orleans will really just be a tourist destination. The French Quarter and probably some of uptown around St. Charles will survive unless things get really bad.
- scottlocklin 7y ago
  You do realize New Orleans has always been under water, right? The reason it flooded is because the local government didn't bother managing the levees and floodwalls properly.
  - pfisch 7y ago
    Which time are you talking about when it flooded? It flooded on mother's day this year during just a hard rain because all the pumps are failing because the cities infrastructure is falling apart. New Orleans has been losing its natural protection of the wet lands and barrier islands for decades, exacerbated by the oil companies digging trenches in the wetlands to speed up their demise. Louisiana has been losing land for a long time, and it is concealed in maps by the local government. In the last 80 years louisiana has lost 1900 square miles of land to the ocean. https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/boot-no-more-a-wetter-map-of-louisiana https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/boot-no-more-a-wetter-map-... The problem isn't only mismanagement. That is just one of many problems that are causing failing infrastructure throughout the city. What the poster above said about Miami is probably somewhat true, in that mismanagement is one of the issues of why Miami is flooding as well. But it isn't the only problem and it isn't even the main issue these cities are facing. It will only become more expensive to maintain these flood protections in the future, and create more opportunities for greater corruption as well.
- southern_cross 7y ago
  > I guess what I am saying is I don't believe you, and most of New Orleans going into the ocean as well. And why not? You could, you know, lift a finger and go check out for yourself the relevant local news reports about the current and past situation, but you have to go back a few years now to see how it all actually got started. And pretty much all of coastal Louisiana is naturally subsiding (sinking) anyway. (The same is true for Texas, BTW, including much of its interior.) Flood control projects built on the Mississippi River over the past century have made the problem far more readily apparent today than it would otherwise be.

pfisch 7y ago

New Orleans is itself in a rapidly deteriorating state. I lived there for over 30 years, and it has gotten progressively worse and worse over time. There are now frequent periods where you have to boil your water before you can use it, and it floods in a hard rain which didn't really happen 10 years ago. I guess what I am saying is I don't believe you, and most of New Orleans going into the ocean as well. New Orleans and Miami will just slowly deteriorate over time and people will stop investing in these places because it isn't worth the flood risks. Eventually New Orleans will really just be a tourist destination. The French Quarter and probably some of uptown around St. Charles will survive unless things get really bad.

scottlocklin 7y ago
You do realize New Orleans has always been under water, right? The reason it flooded is because the local government didn't bother managing the levees and floodwalls properly.
- pfisch 7y ago
  Which time are you talking about when it flooded? It flooded on mother's day this year during just a hard rain because all the pumps are failing because the cities infrastructure is falling apart. New Orleans has been losing its natural protection of the wet lands and barrier islands for decades, exacerbated by the oil companies digging trenches in the wetlands to speed up their demise. Louisiana has been losing land for a long time, and it is concealed in maps by the local government. In the last 80 years louisiana has lost 1900 square miles of land to the ocean. https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/boot-no-more-a-wetter-map-of-louisiana https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/boot-no-more-a-wetter-map-... The problem isn't only mismanagement. That is just one of many problems that are causing failing infrastructure throughout the city. What the poster above said about Miami is probably somewhat true, in that mismanagement is one of the issues of why Miami is flooding as well. But it isn't the only problem and it isn't even the main issue these cities are facing. It will only become more expensive to maintain these flood protections in the future, and create more opportunities for greater corruption as well.
southern_cross 7y ago
> I guess what I am saying is I don't believe you, and most of New Orleans going into the ocean as well. And why not? You could, you know, lift a finger and go check out for yourself the relevant local news reports about the current and past situation, but you have to go back a few years now to see how it all actually got started. And pretty much all of coastal Louisiana is naturally subsiding (sinking) anyway. (The same is true for Texas, BTW, including much of its interior.) Flood control projects built on the Mississippi River over the past century have made the problem far more readily apparent today than it would otherwise be.