# Umm.. if New Orleans is "in a bowl" that water's not going to just drain away, is it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umm-if-new-orleans-is-in-a-bowl-that-waters-not-going-to-just-drain-away-is-it/320154>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 5, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umm-if-new-orleans-is-in-a-bowl-that-waters-not-going-to-just-drain-away-is-it/320154 "2005-09-05T03:28:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umm-if-new-orleans-is-in-a-bowl-that-waters-not-going-to-just-drain-away-is-it/320154/21 "2005-09-05T21:24:06Z")

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> [@levdrakon](#):
>
> Is that where all the toxic pollution goes, too?

I’ll bet there are many waivers of environmental laws to accommodate the cleanup. In addition to the polluted water, you have 150,000 house that have to be razed and disposed of, and they aren’t going to be putting all that rubble in a landfill. My money is on a big bonfire that burns for months. Rebuilding New Orleans will take precedence over air quality.

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**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/umm-if-new-orleans-is-in-a-bowl-that-waters-not-going-to-just-drain-away-is-it/320154/22 "2005-09-05T23:36:26Z")

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i wouldn’t eat seafood from that area for a bit. esp. shell fish.

draining the city directly into the lake, river, and gulf is going to have a major impact on the fishing industry.

there is talk of using dredges. if they use the dredges, i hope they have them empty into containers rather than the ecosystem.

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