Senator Mary Landrieu listens to the history and development of Amsterdam on May 26, 2009 during her CoDel in the Netherlands. (In Dutch, Netherlands means “low lying lands.”) Photo by Sandy Rosenthal.

This morning I participated in Senator Mary Landrieu’s press conference on her CoDel to the Netherlands May 26-29 to which HJ Bosworth Jr and I were invited guests.

The Senator restated her praise of how the Dutch people engineer for guaranteed security and she denounced the US Army Corps of Engineers unsustainable “patch and pray” method.

She also reiterated her plan to transform the way the Corps of Engineers operates and to sponsor a new bill. The process will begin with hearings next week in front of the Senate and Public Works committee.

“The Dutch engineers work with architects to integrate flood control. Their system “fits” into the landscape,” said the Senator. “America fights water; Holland lives with it.”

The Senator described managing water as managing ground water, rainfall, coastal restoration, protection of wildlife and the environment, canals, and  bayous.

“It’s not scientifically possible to protect us with levees only. That’s a stale tired wasteful expensive military-style model. We need a new way. Managing water does not mean just pumping it out. It also means enjoying the beauty of water” she said.

Senator Landrieu closed by answering a question about New Orleans’s footprint.

“We will not leave,” she said. “Someone must run the river port, the petroleum and oil wells, agriculture, the fishing. We are going to stay, but we need a new model. President Obama is looking for different models, and has already made a commitment to the coast. This will fit Obama’s ideas and wish for cost effective sustainable solutions. This not just about South Louisiana.  We’re the canary in the coal mine. This is an issue the whole country should understand. Certainly CA, FL, NC, SC, and NJ which have large coastlands might also welcome a new model.”