Re: Is New Orleans finished ?


SioL wrote:
> <bill.sloman@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1125527996.796318.229970@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<snip>

> One question, is the soil that you rescue from the sea not too salty to be used
> for agriculture?

It is - initially. Rainwater eventually washes the salt out of the soil
and the windmills - now pumping stations - pump the (now slightly
salty) rainwater out of the polder and eventually out to sea.

IIRR, after a couple of years you can plant salt tolerant grasses and
use the soil for grazing but it took about a generation or two before
the soil was fit for cultivation.

The Dutch have been doing this for many hundreds of years, and the
procedure is well known. Empoldering swampland was a notoriously
long-term investment, and the investors are highly motivated to ensure
that the local flood defences are in good shape, so that they don't
have to start over from scratch.

---------
Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

.

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