Pumping sand to build up coast should be our first line of defense

Obviously, south Louisiana needs some protection from the encroaching Gulf of Mexico, especially during hurricane season.

Bayou Gauche here in St. Charles Parish, as well as many other areas such as St. Bernard and Terrebonne Parish, got serious flooding during this year’s hurricane season.
The Morganza to the Gulf levee that is planned to protect St. Charles as well as Lafourche and Terrebonne is still many years away.  Meanwhile, there are quicker ways to get protection.

The main way is to continually build up the barrier islands which is our first line of defense. That is why they are called barrier islands. Included would  be Grand Terre, Grand Isle, Elmer’s Island, Timbalier Island and Last Island.

The best way to do that would be for the state to buy one or two of those dredge boats that can suck up sand from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico into the hull and then travel to the beaches of the barrier islands and deteriorating wetlands and start pumping it out. It could be a year round operation. This has been done with success in Europe which seems to be far ahead of us in flood protection.

We’ve preached this before but the state and feds continue to study and re-study the problem while our coast washes away and hurricane surges invade our populated areas more and more. Gov. Bobby Jindal has promised to start actual work on restoration projects wholesale next year. Hopefully he will go through with it whether he gets the federal help or not. We reportedly now have a billion dollars to spend right away. We already know what the right projects are and we don’t have to study them anymore.

It’s time to get serious about next president

By the way, the presidential candidate debates begin Friday night and it will be a good time to start making judgments as to who will  make the best chief executive. Hopefully it will put an end to the unimportant nonsense that has evolved during the campaign in television interviews and commercials.

It’s time to get serious about who will carry on the leadership that has put the United States in the forefront of promoting democracy and freedom throughout the world. Ever since World War I, we have been international in our outlooks and concerns about helping other people. With the world becoming smaller and more accessible to evil minds who have the weapons to destroy populations across the oceans, it’s not enough to maintain law and order only in our own land. It’s a worldwide need now.

Check out the candidates views during the debates and plan to vote for those most likely to fulfill that need.

 

About Allen Lottinger 433 Articles
Publisher Emeritus

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