Permanent Canal Closures & Pumps (PCCP)

PCCP Project Overview

Congress has fully authorized and funded the Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) for southeast Louisiana. The $14.45 billion HSDRRS includes five parishes, consists of 350 miles of levees and floodwalls; 73 non-Federal pumping stations; 3 canal closure structures with pumps; and 4 gated outlets.

The three main outfall canals in New Orleans are a critical element of the flood control system, serving as drainage conduits for much of the city. The canals run south-to-north near the Orleans Parish lakefront between the Jefferson Parish line and the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) with floodwall-topped levees lining each canal. The 17th Street Canal extends 13,500 feet from Pump Station 6 to Lake Pontchartrain along the Jefferson Parish line. The Orleans Avenue Canal, between the 17th Street Canal and the London Avenue Canal, runs approximately 11,000 feet from Pump Station 7 to Lake Pontchartrain. The London Avenue Canal extends 15,000 feet north from Pump Station 3 to Lake Pontchartrain about halfway between the Orleans Avenue Canal and the IHNC.

The Corps awarded the approximately $615 million contract to construct Permanent Canal Closures & Pumps (PCCP) at the mouths of the 17th Street, Orleans Avenue and London Avenue outfall canals on April 17, 2013 to PCCP Constructors JV. The PCCP will provide a permanent and more sustainable measure for reducing the risk of a 100-year level storm surge entering the outfall canals. The PCCP will replace the Interim Closure Structures, which were constructed in 2006. The notice to proceed was issued on May 6, 2013, and construction will be complete in 44 months (2017). The existing Interim Closure Structures will continue to provide 100-year levels of risk reduction until construction of the PCCP is complete.