Lakeview and Gentilly next in line for flood fixes
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New Orleans officials are chipping away at what they say is one of the city's most urgent challenges — flooding.
Why it matters: Lakeview and Gentilly are next up on the to-do list.
The latest: The city hosts a meeting Wednesday night to talk about possible solutions for Lakeview, Lakeshore and Lake Vista.
- Officials used computer models to track how rainfall moves through streets, pipes and green spaces during storms.
- The study identifies where green infrastructure could be the most helpful to prevent flooding, according to the Office of Resilience and Sustainability.
- The meeting is at 6pm in Hynes Charter School's library. RSVP. The feedback at the meeting will guide the city's next steps, the flyer says.
Flashback: There was a city plan to use City Park's lagoons to help manage flooding in Lakeview, but a City Park spokesperson tell Axios the project is no longer active.
Zoom in: On Thursday, officials host a public meeting in the St. Bernard area before starting construction on a park project worth at least $10 million.
- The new Willie Hall Playground facility is designed to reduce flooding while also restoring a historic recreational space, the city says.
- The meeting is at 6pm at McDonogh 35 College Preparatory High School's auditorium.
Zoom out: That project is happening under pressure for the city to show progress to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- HUD gave the city $141.2 for Gentilly's National Disaster Resilience program, which is a combination of efforts to reduce flood risk, slow land subsidence, improve energy reliability and encourage neighborhood revitalization.
- Last year, a HUD audit was critical of the city, saying "little progress" had been made on the projects.
- The grant money is funding the Willie Hall project.
How it works: The city's pumping system is regularly overwhelmed during heavy rainfall, leading to street flooding.
- Officials want to use "green" and "gray" infrastructure to divert stormwater so the pumps can keep up.
- Green infrastructure absorbs rain where it falls. Examples: Rain gardens, bioswales and stormwater parks.
- Gray features include permeable pavement and underground tubes that store rainwater.
State of play: The city has a climate action plan, which calls for using those tools to manage millions of gallons of stormwater.
- The goal is to complete 21 green infrastructure projects by 2035, officials say.
- Six are done, the city says — Pontilly Neighborhood Stormwater Network, St. Roch drainage projects, Oak Park drainage improvements and Hagan Lafitte in Mid-City.
- Previous projects were part of the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan.
- The Mirabeau Water Garden and a massive project across the CBD and Uptown are currently under construction.
Meanwhile, Healthy Community Services recently completed a community-led flooding solution in the 7th Ward called Vision 2 Reality Stormwater Park.
- Other groups are exploring solutions too.
Threat level: Rainstorms in New Orleans are getting more intense, according to data from Climate Central.
- Hourly rainfall intensity increased 8.7% between 1970 and 2024, writes Axios' Chelsea Brasted.
- Climate change can amplify rainstorms, as warmer air can hold more water.