Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System

The greater New Orleans Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) is an infrastructure systems in southern Louisiana which seeks to provide the greater New Orleans area a 100-year level of risk reduction, meaning reduced risk from a storm surge that has a 1% chance of occurring or being exceeded in any given year.

While a protection system existed prior to 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Congress authorized and funded the construction of the 100-year level risk reduction system, known as the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS). The HSDRRS includes five parishes (Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Charles, and Plaquemines) and consists of 350 miles of levees and floodwalls; 73 non-Federal pumping stations; 3 canal closure structures with pumps; and 4 gated outlets.

The Greater New Orleans HSDRRS is engineered to the 100-year level of risk reduction against tropical events and related rainfall and storm surges. The $14 billion system includes the construction or improvement of 133 miles of perimeter risk reduction features, such as levees, floodwalls, floodgates and pump stations. HSDRRS was designed for a 50-year project life and the design accounted for sea level rise, subsidence and increased storm frequency throughout that time frame. Construction of the system also included resiliency features, such as the armoring of the backside of levees and floodwalls to prevent scour in the event of wave overtopping.

The Corps also supports the multiple lines of defense strategy for reducing risk, which includes the restoration of Louisiana’s coastal areas. Coastal habitats provide an important buffer between open water and structural protection like the HSDRRS.

The HSDRRS construction project is planned and executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District of the Mississippi Valley Division.

Upon completion, the Corps of Engineers plans to give responsibility to local authorities for operations and maintenance of the system.

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