The last time I was in Holland my friend took me to see the waterworks-- a very impressive steel barrier that keeps the North sea from flooding a bay. She told me that they have madea lot of money selling the idea worldwide since they built it. As long as the feds control the pursestrings, however, the locals will be at their mercy.
Not that it matters, but the lawyers actually control the development of flood protection and everything else in our country. They've blocked plenty of fruitful schemes to improve flood protection in Louisiana while nevertheless perpetuating some environmentally damaging, economically untenable schemes like the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet.