# Brig. Gen & Levies? Did he say...!?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284 "2005-09-25T01:27:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/1 "2005-09-25T01:27:24Z")
Speaking on Larry King Live on CNN tonight, the Brigadere General of the US Army Corps of Engineers said that by next hurricane season, the levies will be re-built for a Category 3 hurricane (i.e. no change in design) and 10-ft height (vs. 7 feet). Did I hear correctly? If so, there is no plan to reinforce the levies for more? Although not a common occurence, so normally one would not design for the worst case…still there is so much at risk here! So, is that the game plan!?! - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/2 "2005-09-25T02:07:51Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Speaking on Larry King Live on CNN tonight, the Brigadere General of the US Army Corps of Engineers said that by next hurricane season, the levies will be re-built for a Category 3 hurricane (i.e. no change in design) and 10-ft height (vs. 7 feet). > > Did I hear correctly? If so, there is no plan to reinforce the levies for more? Although not a common occurence, so normally one would not design for the worst case…still there is so much at risk here! So, is that the game plan!?! > > - Jinx I must assume, lacking further inside info, that it means mean that _this_ is as far as they can do _in time for for next season_, by _rebuilding in-place_. As in, going for Cat4/5 and/or 20’ surge protection would take years and require reconceptualizing the whole system of NOLA flood protection. And the determination as to whether **that** is viable or really worth it on a Cost/Benefit/Risk basis is not yet made. [/GAUDERE] For crying out loud, people… LEVEES [/GAUDERE] …sorry, man, not personal, I just could not take it any more… ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/3 "2005-09-25T02:53:02Z")
> **[U.S. Department of Defense](https://www.defense.gov/)** > > The Department of Defense is America's largest government agency. With our military tracing its roots back to pre-Revolutionary times, the department has grown and evolved with our nation. > [@](#): > > Q Well, how long could that take, sir? > > GEN. STROCK: Well, the study could take actually – just the study itself could take years, and the actual implementation of the study could take many more years. Just to put this in context, the current hurricane protection system around New Orleans was first authorized in 1965. It went through a series of litigations. It really only began in earnest, in a modified form in 1975, so we’ve been about 30 years building these levees to get to this level. > > When you build a levee, you have to understand that the soils in the area – and in the area of New Orleans the soil’s very compressible. So the way we do these levees is we lay a section of the levee on it, and they will compress the soils and you’ll get settlement; the levee itself settles, and then we’ll go back in and put another lift on there. We can’t put it all down at one time because you can have catastrophic results in the foundation. So it’s a very long process. Typically, four or five years we wait between each segment of levee, so these don’t happen overnight. It takes a number of years to put these kind of things in place. See this thread for more: [Katrina: Why did the levees fail?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=334689) ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/4 "2005-09-25T02:53:33Z")
Many improvements could be made to various portions of the US infrastructure, but a cost/benefit analysis must be done, and a determination of who’s going to pay the tab needs to happen, as there are many more projects than there are dollars. Beyond that answer, we’re headed into GD or the Pit, and I don’t wish to take this response there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/5 "2005-09-25T03:56:45Z")
Yes it seems like a real reponse to the Levee problem could take years. How long did it take Venice or parts of Holland to become the cities they are toay? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/6 "2005-09-25T04:17:22Z")
Don’t tell the Dutch that you think Holland is a city. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/7 "2005-09-25T04:22:17Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Don’t tell the Dutch that you think Holland is a city. 🙂 It’ll be our secert. :smack: Ya, caught that, but you know what I mean. The dikes and all . . . how long did it take them? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/8 "2005-09-25T15:58:51Z")
Centuries, **Si Amigo**. The Netherlands HAVE had a [major North Sea flood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_Flood_of_1953) in living memory for which some of the response infrastructure took until the 1990’s to have in place. Both the Netherlands and Venice became economic powerhouses well in the past, when the level of works necessary to protect the population and property was of a smaller scale than it would be if they had to do it from scratch for their current populations and properties (and **today** , Old Venice would more likely just not be built…) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/9 "2005-09-25T16:10:01Z")
I heard a general who’s name sounded like General _Whore_. Did I hear that right? ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/10 "2005-09-25T17:25:40Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I heard a general who’s name sounded like General _Whore_. Did I hear that right? I bet you’re thinking of General Honore. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/11 "2005-09-25T17:57:05Z")
> [@Harriet the Spry](#): > > I bet you’re thinking of General Honore. No, it’s a different guy. I heard the pronunciation, rather than saw his name. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/12 "2005-09-25T18:02:44Z")
Using a guessed spelling, I did find a General Joseph Hoar. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brig-gen-levies-did-he-say/323284/13 "2005-09-25T18:05:55Z")
Frosty!