Dutch ahead on La.’s problems

Gerard Shields, The Advocate

11/21/10:

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., recently returned from her third trip to the Netherlands to study that nation’s world-renowned flood-control system.

The trip wasn’t as much for Landrieu as it was for the 28-person contingent she took  with her, she said. Among the group this time were federal officials who oversee the U.S. flood-control system, state political leaders, scholars and leaders from groups such as the National Wildlife Federation.

In 1953, the Netherlands suffered a flood that was eerily similar to Hurricane Katrina of 2005. About 1,800 Dutch people drowned in the 1953 catastrophe, caused when 800 miles of dikes burst due to a rising spring tide combined with high winds.

Robert Twilley, a former professor of the LSU Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science, joined Landrieu on the latest trip and focused his attention on Deltares,  an independent Dutch research institution.

Deltares is composed of 800 of the country’s scientists. Each year, the organization embarks on about $5 billion worth of water-management projects in the country with a coastline similar in length to Louisiana, Twilley said.

“It shows the amount of effort it’s going to take to get serious about our coastline,” said Twilley, now vice president of research at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Paul Sawyer, director of federal programs for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, also went on the trip and said the lessons learned by the Dutch show that successful water management can be an industry.

The Dutch represent the gold standard in water management, creating a robust culture, economy and group of institutions surrounding their expertise, Sawyer said.

“The Dutch experience, geography, natural disasters and recovery is much like our own,” Sawyer said.
Karla Raettig, national campaign manager for the National Wildlife Federation, also joined the excursion.

Though two-thirds of the Netherlands is below sea level, the country is not suffering from the coastal land-loss crisis that Louisiana is facing, Raettig said.

But the Netherlands and Louisiana share the issues of living in an area that will be hard-hit by sea-level rise, she said. Raettig was impressed with how the Dutch have come not to rely on higher and higher dikes and sea walls, she said.

The Netherlands is moving away from that system and towards a more natural plan that allows the river to connect with the floodplain, using only the blocking devices in extreme situations, she said.

“Like the Netherlands, south Louisiana must use its natural systems as the first line of defense to protect the people and start rebuilding land,” Raettig said.

Landrieu agrees.

The Dutch have been dealing with water-management issues for 700 years, she said. They’ve learned not to fight with the water, she said.

“They are really the world leaders in Delta life, vibrant delta life,” Landrieu said. “In the last 50 years, they’ve learned to live with the water.”

Landrieu was able to visit the small towns, she said. Among the interesting things she saw was a parking lot that stored water when it floods. She also saw a building that served as a levee, she said.

Twilley was impressed with the contingent that Landrieu assembled for the trip, he said. Among the group was Terrence “Rock” Salt, assistant secretary for civil works at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that manages the American flood-control system. Salt is renowned in his own right for his work on preserving the Florida Everglades, Twilley said.

Twilley has been to the Netherlands five or six times. No matter how many times he has been to the country, Twilley said, he always walks away with more information about how Louisiana can benefit from the Dutch water-management experience.

“Every time you go there, what is impressive is that those people don’t give lip service,” he said. “They walk the walk and talk the talk.”

Landrieu views the trips the same, she said.

“They are not retreating,” she said. “Nor are we.”