This photo was taken with a block of Canal behind me where it joins Lake Pontchartrain. It is a canal that separates Orleans Parish (New Orleans) from Jefferson Parish (Metairie.)
The dark, metal sheet pilings on the left is the repair work the Corps of Engineers has done to the levee wall break. This break flooded and destroyed much of New Orleans and parts of Metairie and the flood waters reached Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue. There is much controversy about flood protection and a Louisiana and Congressional delegation went to Holland this past week to study their flood protection system.
Because much of this area is below sea level the canals are needed to drain rainwater from the residential areas to Lake Pontchartrain. Pumping stations lift the water into the lake.