New Orleans and Drainage

It's a SYSTEM. It doesn't work when too many parts are broken.

And lots of parts are broken, above and beyond the pumps and the turbines.

Catch Basins not kept clean by the people who live on the street.
Catch Basins not mucked out by the city.
The city paving such that very little space is left for water to get into the Catch Basins.

People consistently breaking the laws like:
Littering which blocks up the Catch Basins,
Blowing leaf litter and grass cuttings into the storm drains,
Parking on the greenspace between the sidewalk and the street which grinds off the grass and lets dirt flow into the Catch Basins and reduces the ability of the compacted ground to absorb, and, if parked on, can damage the catch basins,
Paving front yards,
Over paving period.

And things not done that do help absorb water like:
Planting trees,
Holding water on your property whether it's taking advantage of deep Arts and Crafts eaves to live without gutters so the water doesn't run straight to the street or rain barrels and rain gardens,
Using new technology to create more permeable surfaces.

When we forget it's a SYSTEM and we allow incompetence and malfeasance we get what we got.