Levees.org proposes breach sites to National Register of Historic Places

[caption id="attachment_10968" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Sandy Rosenthal - Levees.org"][/caption]

NEW ORLEANS -  Sandy Rosenthal, Levees.org - On Wed August 4, the grassroots group Levees.org will host a press conference in the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood to announce its nomination of several Levee Breach sites in the New Orleans region to the National Register of Historic Places.

“Although it is very difficult to list sites associated with events as recent as the 2005 Katrina flood the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation believes the sites to meet the Register’s eligibility requirements for exceptional significance” says Nicole Hobson-Morris, Director of Historic Preservation.

In a Multi-Property format, the group has initially nominated two breach sites, the 17th Street Canal breach and the Industrial Canal Breach East side (north) breach.  

“The amount of documentation to meet federal requirements is voluminous,” says H.J. Bosworth, Jr, PE, Research Director for Levees.org.  “So we were compelled, at least initially,   to choose two breach sites which we felt - by themselves - best represented the terrible devastation on August 29,
2005.”


But this is just the beginning, says the group's Founder and Director, Sandy Rosenthal.  Last month, Levees.org alerted the Louisiana State Office of its
intent to nominate four more breach sites which affected other New Orleans neighborhoods and also St. Bernard Parish.

What: Press
conference

Where: Lower
Ninth Ward, Industrial Canal Levee, East side,

2600 Surekote
Drive, New Orleans, water side of floodwall

When: August 4,
2010

Time: 9:30am –
10

The flooding caused by the breach of the 17th Street Canal, Industrial Canal and others in regional New Orleans during Katrina prompted a nationwide levee inventory project, recommendations for a national levee safety program, nationwide re-certification of levees and flood zones, changes to the National Flood Insurance Program, and Congressional passage of reform measures to the US Army Corps of Engineers.  The flooding also led to changes to local building codes and consolidation of three local levee boards into one Authority.

The directions to the location can be found on this map.

Founded in November 2005 in New Orleans, Levees.org has five satellite chapters including New York, Florida, California, Oregon and Illinois.  With a mission of education about the metro New Orleans flooding, the group now has over 25,000 supporters.