The simpleeleganceofSOM’s solution would have little application in New Orleans with the MississippiRiver running through its heart, Lake Ponchartrain at its back, andthe Gulf at its flank.
The Army Corps of Engineers is now building in gates, so that the canals can be sealed off from LakePonchartrain to the north of the town in case another hurricane comes.
If the United States were a party to the Law of the Sea Treaty today though, it is very likely America would be enjoined from dumping New Orleans' toxic stew into LakePonchartrain and the Mississippi River .