Pump? With WHAT?
The whole point of a gravity driven canal lock system is that YOU DON'T NEED PUMPS. They work spectacularly well when idiots don't run them beyond capacity.
I know that. I've been there, remember. Taken the tour. Seen how it all works.
No, obviously, I'm talking about ADDING pumps to the system. You know, since it's almost not working now.
According to this link, New Orleans now has a set of 17 pumps that will pump 11 million gallons PER MINUTE.
And according to this, each lock holds between 48 and 52 million gallons of water.
Whereas the existing locks use 52 million gallons (197 million litres) with each use, the new locks use 48 million gallons (182 million litres).
Certainly sounds like a do-able plan to me.