The good news is the world's biggest pumping station was given a test run on Thursday ahead of the June 1 start of hurricane season, and all worked as planned.
The bad news? The New Orleans area needs the world's biggest pump station.
The test run occurred at what is known as the West Closure Complex in Belle Chasse, part of the $14.6 billion remaking of the New Orleans area's levees and risk reduction systems after Hurricane Katrina.
The complex and its 11 pumps are located in Belle Chase near the confluence of the Harvey and Algiers canals on the Intracoastal waterway. It is able to pump 19,140 cubic feet of water per second -- enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in only 4 seconds. It's designed to divert storm surge away from the Harvey and Algiers canals, which run through Jefferson, Orleans and Plaquemines parishes.
"We test the structure in portions every two weeks," said Nicholas Cali, regional director of the West Bank levee district, officially known as the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West. "This is, once a year, a pre-hurricane-season exercise and inspection with the (Army) Corps of Engineers just to make sure that we're 100% ready for anything we get."
The pumps are powered by a 5,500 horsepower diesel engine. To activate each pump, an air compressor creates a vacuum to suck the water through the station.
The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West turned on the pumps and tested the sector gate during a test of the West Closure Complex in Belle Chasse on Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The worst storm surge on record for the West Bank was during Hurricane Ida in 2021. Then, the station diverted 9 feet of storm surge, running all 11 pumps for 18 continuous hours. However, the structure is able to divert up to 16 feet of storm surge, according to the levee district.
"In some areas like Lake Cataouatche, we had nine-and-a-half, almost 10 feet of surge recorded," Cali said. "That was the true test of the system. And this is a return on the investment, 100%. We're ready for the season."
This year's test comes amid concerns over corrosion in key parts of the protection system located on the opposite side of the river. In March, the Corps of Engineers publicly detailed heavy corrosion that had turned up in one of the 17 pumps at New Orleans' three main outfall canals, and that lesser damage was found in others.
Temporary pumps are being installed at one of the canals -- London Avenue -- while inspections have occurred across the three sites. The other two are the 17th Street and Orleans Avenue canals.
The Corps said in a May 5 update that inspections at five pumps at 17th Street were yet to be completed, but it assures that there will be enough capacity to handle hurricane season.
As for West Closure, when the storm gate is closed, the pumping station also acts as a part of the flood wall, which has 100-year flood protection, meaning a storm that has a 1% chance of occurring in any given year. The gate is also the largest in the world at 225 feet wide.
"That's the level the National Flood Insurance Program requires to be built and that's what level we have across south Louisiana," said Heath Jones, emergency manager for the Corps.
There are 78 total pump stations in Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parish as part of the post-Katrina risk reduction system.
"We're doing this on all 130 miles of the hurricane protection system, all the pump stations," said Jones of the tests and inspections.
Corps and levee district officials also encouraged residents to have a plan ready for hurricane season, whether they decide to evacuate or not, and to listen to local officials for hazards and recommended courses of action. If residents need a place to start forming a plan, they're encouraged to go to getagameplan.org.
