The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has called the huge flood control project, known as the Netherlands North Sea Protection Works, or Delta Works, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

The impetus for a modern, effective flood control system in the Netherlands can be traced to 1953. During that year, a huge North Sea storm shattered more than 450 dikes and levees, killing over 1,800 people and destroying 50,000 homes. The disaster was truly a watershed event for the Netherlands, which embarked on a massive 40-year effort to protect its population.

A very different outcome is unfolding around post-Katrina New Orleans, the flooding of which is being called the largest civil engineering disaster in the history of the United States. In Orleans Parish alone, some 720 deaths were reported. Already, the ASCE and several other engineering experts are sounding the alarm that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is repeating mistakes and miscalculations that caused the levees to fail in the first place. One of the biggest concerns is that Congress and the Corps are "settling" for a levee design that will fail, on average, every 100 years.

Photo credit: Rijkswaterstaat - Adviesdienst Geo-Informatie en ICT (AGI)

By contrast, barriers protecting the most populated and economically important areas of the Netherlands are designed to withstand a storm with a probability of occurrence of 1 in 10,000 years. The country's lowest level of protection, located in inland areas, is rated for a 1-in-1,250-year storm, far exceeding category 5 hurricane level protection. The country has also instituted a "Room for Rivers" program that expands flood plains to accommodate overflow of three major European Rivers that move through the country.

The total cost of the four-decade Netherlands Delta Works program is estimated to be around $18 billion in today's dollars. Additionally, the Dutch government spends about $500 million annually on flood protection, "a good investment, as insurance for $350 billion of Gross Domestic Product," according to remarks made by Boudewijn J. van Eenennaam, the Dutch Ambassador to the United States, who visited the Gulf region shortly after Katrina hit. The diplomat said this amounts to less than a penny per dollar of the country's GDP of $500 billion.

Estimates to fit New Orleans with a system that can withstand ten times the blow delivered by Hurricane Katrina hover between $10 billion to more than $20 billion. More than one proponent has pointed out that with the cost of the Iraq war topping $321 billion so far, the price to get it done right in New Orleans is cheap.

Credit: Stg. Deltawerken Online - Sabine van Buuren

Fortunately, pockets of interest in a Dutch-inspired solution are forming. Last year, Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana lead a 40-person delegation to the Netherlands to scope out designs and observe the streamlined bureaucracy that allows the Dutch to keep the water at bay. In fact, Newsweek reported last Fall that the Corps has asked a Dutch firm to design a floodgate system for Lake Borgne near New Orleans. The article also cites a Corps official who says the U.S. may request additional help from the Netherlands.

Many U.S. officials, including former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert, have questioned whether parts of New Orleans are even worth saving. The Dutch, with Amsterdam 12 feet below sea level, and Rotterdam, the world's second largest port at 23 feet below sea level, have a different answer.

Indeed, resurrecting one of America's most authentic cities with proven technology can also serve as a prototype to greater protection for other low-lying regions and cities at risk. These include the Sacramento Valley (with its century-old dikes), Miami and New York City—most of which sits just 10 feet above sea level.

As global water levels continue to rise (and warm in temperature), it is critical that the United States launch a project as intensive and ambitious as the Manhattan Project or the Apollo space program, to protect against future storm surges wherever possible.

Streetscapes Online, Volume 12 <