Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Program (SELA)

Designed to reduce flood damages in New Orleans and surrounding parishes through the construction of new pumping stations and increasing the capacity of drainage canals, the United States Army Corp of Engineers and the City of New Orleans are working together on the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Program (SELA).

During the initial program phases, THA’s assistance in identifying potential social and economic impacts of construction on businesses and neighborhoods was instrumental to public involvement and outreach planning efforts. By conducting field assessments of the project areas along with other research, THA helped define the zones of impact within communities, and obtained demographic information essential for the project. THA continues to provide target specific public involvement and outreach services, including neighborhood information meeting coordination, telephone information line operation, and risk management assistance to facilitate processing of construction related complaints and reports of property damage. In addition, THA’s creative team developed the SELA Orleans website and newsletter to help citizens and stakeholders understand, track, and give feedback on projects.