Guardian: Rebuilding may cost as much as war in Iraq

[Eugene]

Rebuilding may cost as much as war in Iraq

New Orleans Roads, sewers and pipes will have to be replaced
as draining of city reveals huge task

David Adam and John Vidal
Wednesday September 7, 2005
The Guardian

Engineers in New Orleans face an unprecedented rebuilding programme
as operations to pump water out of the flooded city began yesterday.
Flood levels in some areas were said to have dropped by a foot after
army engineers plugged a major gap in the levees.

Yesterday it emerged that many of the roads, sewers and pipes carrying
water and gas will have to be replaced and that contamination by
sewage and toxic chemicals could mean some areas of the city have to
be rebuilt completely.

Hugh Kaufman, senior policy analyst for emergency response at the
Environmental Protection Agency, said New Orleans may need one of the
largest public building programmes ever seen in the US at a cost of
$80-100bn - approximately the same as the yearly cost of the war in
Iraq.

"You have to repair and rebuild the sewage treatment plant and sewer
infrastructure, as well as the drinking water infrastructure.

"You're talking about a massive public works programme of rebuilding
that I don't think we've seen in this country before. We're talking
about like how much money we're putting into Iraq," said Mr Kaufman,
who worked on the clean-up of New York after the terrorist attacks of
September 11.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1564268,00.html