Levee Engineering

Belmont Club entry on the engineering of the levee systems.

When Katrina showed up, it simply exceeded the designed defenses of city. There was never any prospect they would hold up. Nor was there any possibility any could be built until the middle of the 21st century. Given the length of time necessary to defend the perimeter of New Orleans against a Category 4 threat, a number of proposals were advanced suggesting enclosing the city's vitals in an cofferdam, in a manner reminiscent of battleship citadels.

His statement based on an article linked from from Civil Engineering Magazine.