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New Orleans even being able to continue existing at all is due to the Army Corps Of Engineers. The Old River Control Structure keeps it from flooding too hard,
by rjbwork 4y ago
New Orleans even being able to continue existing at all is due to the Army Corps Of Engineers. The Old River Control Structure keeps it from flooding too hard, and a LOT of resources go into keeping the river along its current route so that NOLA can continue as the premier port for the mid-west to import and export from/to the world.
- tomrod 4y agoHow much would it cost if the river diverted? Would a huge part of Louisiana need to be geo-engineered to restore the literal bloodflow of US trade (in the East)? There would be dozens of states that would be hosed economically if the Mississippi entrance were to be blocked.
- rjbwork 4y agoIt would cost a shitload. Morgan City would have to be build up tremendously, since that is likely where the bulk of the flow would end up, through the Atchafalaya river, basin, and delta. New Orleans and Baton Rouge would see one of the most dramatic economic implosions seen in the modern world. Akin to, and possibly worse, than the hollowing out of many formerly prosperous rust belt cities. There would also most likely be a lot of people displaced by allowing the Mississippi/Atchafalaya to meander at will, since the channels to handle that amount of water if left to its own devices are simply not there. You'd end up with an absolutely enormous floodplain between the current paths of those two rivers. My family is from the bayous between that area. The highest place in town was an artificial hill in a park 20-30 feet high. All in all, it's probably better ecologically to simply let the rivers meander as they will, but economically it is in the city, state, and region's best interests to maintain the status quo.