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      The city of New Orleans, the Corps, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have teamed up to create current rates for flood insurance .  The reason new rates are needed is simple.  Technology has allowed minimal flooding and therefore people may need their rates adjusted.  Not only do spillways help prevent flooding, so do drainage systems within the city.  Since the last time flood insurance rates were  adjusted, about $1.2 billion has been put into the drainage system and other preventative methods in New Orleans.  Due to the money and changes put forth, different parts of the city might get bigger breaks on flood insurance.  Breaks on flood insurance are not the only perk to changing the insurance rate.  If the rates change, people will want to know why, and this will be a great opportunity to also educate people on the shelters, evacuation routes, and many more flood survival methods.  The exact insurance rates will not be available until the end of 2005.  Check the reference page for the correct web address.

     Another project is the construction of a new lock in New Orleans.  The Industrial Canal Lock is one of the busiest locks in the world, sometimes creating a 36 hour wait to get through.  The Industrial Canal Lock is only 75'x640'x31.5'.  The new lock that is to be built will be 110'x1200'x36' and be able to increase old locks capacity by three times.  There are a few hold ups though.  Some people are afraid of wetland loss, and others are afraid of residential relocation.  for these reasons, congress gave $37 million to New Orleans to do research in the community to figure out exactly which issues were most important.  It was found that the new Industrial Canal Lock would best be built just down river from the old one.  The reason this lock is so important is because it controls a lot of the immediate flooding for the city of New Orleans.  It also connects five important trade waterways, the "Mississippi River, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO), the Industrial Canal (also known as the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal), and Lake Pontchartrain."