By Mark Davis, director, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy
New Orleans has always had a close, even essential relationship with water. Almost like a traditional but tempestuous marriage. For better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health. Early on, the City and its founders were struck by the power and beauty of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, but more importantly they were enamored of the possibilities presented by locating a city at, for all practical purposes, the junction of the River and the sea. It was never an easy marriage but it was, from the City’s point of view anyway, a largely successful one.
Once the marriage was made the City wanted to settle down with a well behaved partner who dutifully and quietly served its growth and prosperity. Over time it strove to channel and control the waters, to bend them to its will. Ultimately, the City came to take the water for granted and its eyes roved to new challenges and opportunities. This is a risky way to handle any important relationship. When that relationship is with water, it is just plain dumb.
We all know what happens next in this story. Water will be pushed around for awhile but it, like all of nature, has the final word. And when it pushes back it leaves no doubt about its need to be respected.
Mark Davis, director, Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy
The marriage between New Orleans and water isn’t over but it is trouble. There is no going back to the way things were. If this City is to have a fighting chance it is going to have wake up and realize that water, and the landscape it built, is central to this City’s existence. It can be managed up to a point but not exploited. It needs to be appreciated, respected, and even celebrated.
There are signs of change. The City’s new draft Master Plan calls for making room for water and emphasizing good water and land stewardship. Support for coastal restoration has never been higher. Community action finally forced the closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.
But words, sentiments, and a few emblematic actions aren’t going to be enough. It will take a commitment to water stewardship, sensible land use controls , and recognizing that the protection and resilience of this City is more a matter of how we live here than the levees and pumps we build. This marriage can be saved, but it is going to take work. That work is only just begun.
