Permanent Canal Closures and Pumps (PCCP)

The Permanent Canal Closures and Pumps project (PCCP) was a fixed-price, design-build project that provided a permanent, more sustainable solution for reducing the risk of a 100-year level storm surge entering the outfall canals throughout the city of New Orleans.

Awarded to the Kiewit-led joint partnership in 2012, the project involved the design and construction of three permanent gated storm surge barriers and pump station structures along the flood-prone canals south of Lake Pontchartrain. 

The project was organized and constructed per site: 17th Street Canal Pump Station, the largest of the three sites; Orleans Avenue Canal Pump Station, the smallest of the three sites; and London Avenue Canal Pump Station. Combined, these facilities yield the largest drainage pumping capacity in the world and can operate continuously and independently during storm events. The vertical mixed flow configuration of the pumps in each of the pump stations are driven by large diesel generators capable of pumping up to 24,300 cubic feet per second (cfs) combined capacity during a storm, fast enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in 3.63 seconds.

In addition to the pump stations, each of the three sites includes a generator building to house the diesel generators that power the pumps, fuel tanks to allow continuous operation for up to five days, new concrete T-wall, gate structures to pass non-event water flow, canal dredging and both above and below water rip rap erosion protection.

Other interesting facts about PCCP include:

• At least 379,000 residents of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes will be impacted by the risk reduction provided by the PCCP project. 
• The three pump stations can pump a combined 24,300 cfs — enough water to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in 3.64 seconds, or New Orleans’ Superdome in less than 90 minutes. 
• The entire project placed 70,000 cubic yards of structural concrete — enough to cover the entire floor space of the Superdome with a slab over seven-feet thick. 
• The 7,000 tons of reinforcing steel used on the project surpasses the weight of the steel in the Gateway Arch in St. Louis by 1,000 tons. 
• If laid end to end, the permanent pile used on the project would stretch almost 50 miles.