BLDGBLOG has put up a post the week before last about an idea to amputate the Mississippi River's outer "bird's-foot" delta and create a dumping of sediment along the periphery of the main Mississippi Delta. A quick review of the populated places in Google Maps suggests that not too many towns downstream would be cut off. The potential storm protection benefits for a wider wetlands storm buffer along the delta would outweigh the loss of even a medium-sized population center, it seems to me. I'm all for ditching New Orleans to the elements, but if we're going to hang on to it, then this would be an inexpensive way to protect that investment.

Labels: mississippi river, rivers, sediment