Hootenanny,

Yes, excess rainwater is *often* pumped into Lake Pontchartrain. The city of New Orleans is basically bowl-shaped, lowest in the middle between the lake and the Mississippi River, and the average elevation is below sea level. The riverfront has always been the highest part of the city, and both the riverbanks and the lakeshore have been further elevated by levees. There is an extensive system of pumping stations and drainage canals (some of them underground) designed to rid the city of floodwater by moving it into the lake.

The capacity of the pumps is something like 2 or 3 inches of rainfall per hour. When we get really torrential rains, over 3 inches per hour, the streets start to flood, and then some houses.

You are also correct about "riding the rods," which refers to the underside of railroad cars (wagons).

And finally, you are also right about this remarkably civil thread. Like all half-dozen or more current and recent discussions of this topic, all participants are nice as can be. I suppose it says something about those of us who are interested, more of less equally, in things Irish and Louisianan.