New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-21
and canals give an artificial Slope down a
SUI 100 G.. w. r. BAYLEY.
NEW ORLEANS, La, Jun

NEW ORLEANS, La, June IL, 1911.
Hon BENZ. p. Flanders, Mayer:
In reply to your letter of the fourteenth
instant have to say that the importance
of the subject is SO great that can not
enter INTO all the details required Ill the
short time which will elapse before the next
meeting of the Council. and shall, there
fore. only give the heads of the subjects 70
be discussed If my general ideas are ap.
proved / shall be happy to develop them a'
another time.
THE PROTECTION OF THE CITY FROM OVER
FLOW FROM THE LAKE OR THE RIVER.
For protection against the lake you are
required to build protection levee' ou1
| while you are building this levee, whicn
] will take wears, how is the urban part OF
| the city to be protecteds Answer-By as
sisting nature which has furnished the
Metairie and GENTLY ridges. which have
never been Overhowed. II these TWO
ridges or natural levees, are connected
with the river bank by artificial levees and
their outlets 1.-THE New canal and the Bayou
| st. john are properly embarked ana fur-
nished with locks to keep out the lake
| flow from the lake, while you are building
your grand protection levee, but you must
| first secure this interior protection, other
wise tue urban part of the city VIII De con-
stantly exposed to overflow.
For this interior protection, propose to
raise the public roads on the Metairie and
GENTLY Ridges about one foot, which Will
give two feet three inches above the
last high water of the lake; then
guard locks in the New canal and Bayou
st. John, to be used when the water rises
in the lake. The Metairie ridge must be
connected with the river bank by the old
embankment of the Jefferson and Lake
Pontclartrain Railroad, on Upperline street
of CarrOllt0n. This embankment requires
but little work. A canal must be cut through
the ridge at the junction, to provide for the
drainage of the territory above, with a sim
pie flood gate to keep out the lake water.
The GENTLY ridge must be connected with
the river bank by levee along the pro-
lOngation of the line of the Fishermen's
canal, and draining machine placed at
the junction of the ridge and side levee.
This is the first, the essentially important
work to be done. Secure the portion where
the inhabitants live, and then protect and
drain the vast unnhabited swamp between
the ridges and the lake.
For this protection and drainage, l pro
pose that the lake swamp be inclosed by
bulkhead as high as the ridges and then
filed up by the Mississippi river itself.
Proper locks in the bank, and aqueducts TO
the top of the ridges will, in a short time,
fill up this swamp as high as you make
your bulkheads and give you protection
levee as high as the ridges and extending
from the lake to the ridges, and also give
thousands of acres of land as desirable as
the ridge land, and which will add in
mensely to the value of that swamp, which
never will be desirable or valuable until SO
filled UP. This grand protection levee
should be faced with concrete wall to pre-
tect it against the storms on the lake. The
foundation of this wall must 90 down 10
the blue clay formation TO prevent being
undermined.
Protection against the river must be by
facing the bank of the river i'll the bends as
low down as the first large stratum OF blue
clay. l am preparing an essay on this i'm
portant subject.
The points L make are, first, Interior pro-
lection for the urban portion where the peo-
pie live; and, second, n grand protection
levee from the levee to the ridges by filing
up the uninhabitable swamp and at the
same time making thousands of acres of
ALBERT G. BLANCHARD.
New ORLEANS, June II, 1871.
Hon. Benz. F. Flanders, Mayor of the city of New
Orleans.
In answer to your communication of
the thirteenth instant, inviting my views on
the subject of protecting the city of New
Orleans from overflow, | beg leave to state
that this subject has, years ago, been
fully considered by me, and that my views
relative TO protection levees, draining canals,
draining machines, etc, will be found
lengthily exposed IN report made 10 the
honorable the Common Council in 1857,
published in pamphlet form and contain
ing estimates of the probable cost of the
works proposed. have no good reasons TO
oh -.
and respectfully refer you TO said report.
only that labor and materials be- |
ing now higher, fifty per cent should he adj |
ded to the estimates then made.
But from your communication [ am led |
to believe that your greatest desire, on ac-
count Of the critical condition OF the citys |
finances. is to hear of the most economical |
and most efficient manner of protecting and |
guarding the inhabited portion of the citvl !
the portion between the river and the Net |
irie and GENTLY ridges against'a recur-
renee OF such a disastrous and ruinous over
flow as the one lately experienced. The |
remedy Is simple, and can be understood by
any man of common sense. Nature has |
placed barrier against all storm waters of |
the lake. It is the Metairie and GENTLY
ridges This barrier has never been invaded
by any storm water, not even by the high
est water known, that of the hurricane of
twelve inches. Let this barrier be taken adj
vantage of, aud if the city has no control
over the same, let full control he imme-
diately acquired in conformity with exist
ing laws. The outlay required will not. in
my opinion. exceed $4,000. The inhabited
portion OF the city is already surrounded by
protection levees, which, it Is trne. are
weak and neglected Let the required at
lentlon be given to them; let them be made
Of sufficient width to enable them TO he
Used as roadways, and let them be suffi-
GENTLY raised to protect from overflow bv
'he highest storm waters. This will not
cost over $4,000. Establish draining en-
gines In sufficient number and of sufficient
power 10 dram the area thus enclosed. and
,he end so long aimed at will at last be at
,alned at comparatively very small ex-
Dense. ,. ..'.r ....
The draining and retaining of the low
ands between the Metairie and GENTLY
ridges and the lake surely deserve yonr
earnest consideration, and ought not to be
delayed, but many years will elapse before
Us entire completion. A wise administra
Ion should at once order the necessary sur-
Veys, and the making of the necessary MANS
ana specifications, and when completed
should submit the same for discussion TO a
COMMISSION OF impartial and competent en-
sIneers, and should their report be favor
ible, should adopt the same, and order a
of the work. never losing
ssi9hO OF the end to be attained, and the city
finances permitting, pushing it with energy
% speedy and successful Completion.
LOUIS H. PILE. Surveyor
non' D. r. flanders, Mayor of New Orleans:
III reply 10 your letter OF inquiry as to nv