The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will take $3.2 billion and another 50 years to make sure New Orleans has a levee system that can withstand a 100 year hurricane, and a 100-year river flood.
100-year flood protection is the baseline standard that the National Flood Insurance program uses to determine premiums. It's also the level of protection that federal government agreed New Orleans should have after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city in 2005.
The Corps will begin holding public meetings next month to get input on the plan. Click here for more information on the Eastbank levee proposals, and click here for the Westbank proposals.