Waggonner & Ball
The Pitch
Waggonner & Ball developed the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan to prevent the catastrophic damage and loss of life that occurred during Hurricane Katrina from happening again. The plan improves groundwater storage, reduces impermeable surfaces and builds new waterfront spaces.
The Problem
Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orlean’s water management system and caused catastrophic flooding, highlighting the city’s vulnerabilities. Ongoing subsidence has left many parts of New Orleans below sea level, and climate change is driving more frequent and severe hurricanes in the area. Together, these factors make New Orleans extremely susceptible to extreme weather and put residents at risk.
The Process
- Worked with the Royal Netherlands Embassy and Greater New Orleans, Inc. to design and fund the first regional urban water plan in the U.S.
- Reimagined Louisiana’s water management system, changing its ethos from focusing on levees and impermeable surfaces to flush water out of the city, to one designed to restore natural hydrology using soil types and geologic features
- Incorporated a greater understanding of groundwater stores and surface water conditions
- Integrated the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan with Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and levee system
- Built new open canals, water storage basins, constructed wetlands and green spaces
- Solidified the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan’s principles in city codes
The Impact
- Directly created 44,040 jobs and indirectly created 101,790 jobs in environmental management
- Helped grow green industries and the water management sector
- Made green jobs accessible to the community through training programs at local universities
- Eliminates flooding from five-year storm events and drastically reduces the severity of 10-year events
- Will save the city $10 billion over a 50-year period in storm recovery costs by reducing flooding and subsidence
- Will prevent 270,000 households from being displaced and eliminate the need for 35,000 property owners to repair their foundations
- Minimizes insurance costs for residents
- Increases property values
- Inspired similar improvements in other cities facing heavy rain and floods, such as Bridgeport, Connecticut, St. Louis, Missouri, and San Francisco, California
