cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20050925%2F0647753379.htm&sc=1110&photoid=20050924LATG102&floc=NW_1-T

By ADAM NOSSITER
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Even with new floodwaters lapping at the high-water marks set by Katrina less than a month ago, Mayor Ray Nagin pushed a plan to bring people back to storm-ravaged New Orleans soon is possible.

Federal officials said Saturday it will take two to three weeks to pump out floodwaters created by Hurricane Rita. The water poured in through levees that were patched after Hurricane Katrina.

But Nagin remained upbeat Saturday, renewing his delayed plans to allow some residents to return to the drier parts of the city. He said at a news conference he thought the dry districts would eventually support a population of between 250,000 and 300,000.

``My intention is, if everything goes well ... to re-energize the re-entry plan we had in place,'' he said.

Water rose to the tops of cars in one neighborhood and seeped into homes in other sections of the city that were pumped dry days ago.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers trucked rocks and airlifted giant sandbags to plug one of the levees, and the corp's commander on the ground was leery about how stable the makeshift repairs to the city's fragile flood-control system would prove.

``It's so dependent on the weather,'' said Col. Richard Wagenaar, the corps' district chief in New Orleans.

Nagin said he wanted residents of the Algiers neighborhood, which has electricity and water, to start returning as early as Monday or Tuesday, followed by other ZIP codes.

``We're talking about people who are mobile. We're not asking people to come back who have a lot of kids, a lot of senior citizens,'' he said. ``That's going to be the reality of New Orleans moving forward.''

Nagin delayed his earlier repopulation plan after it became clear that Rita posed a serious danger and federal officials warned that residents would be returning to polluted flood waters. He said Saturday that the latest storm had postponed recovery efforts by another three to five days.

The biggest failure was on the Industrial Canal, where a storm surge pushed by Rita's winds topped a levee that had been patched with rock and gravel. The water cascaded into the city's impoverished Ninth Ward, flooding homes to their windows.

Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who is in charge of the federal disaster effort in the city, had no immediate comment, a spokesman said.

The Army Corps of Engineers estimates the city's system of levees will not be completely repaired until June. With a month left in the hurricane season, there's no guarantee that another storm will not undo the next round of hard work to bring New Orleans back to life.

The effort to rebuild the city will be massive, including unprecedented efforts to demolish flood-ruined buildings and resume electricity, drinking water and sewage services.

Elsewhere in the city, flooding remained from lesser levee problems, heavy rains and Lake Ponchartrain, which lapped over the seawall on Friday and remained above its normal level.

The new flooding in the Ninth Ward brought a stoic response from many locals helping to clean up a pub on St. Charles Avenue.

``They need to start getting people back into the city to do all the work that needs to be done,'' Neuell Griffith said.

Associated Press Writer Michelle Roberts contributed to this report.

That guy should just shut up.

Sounds like a reasonable plan.

Judging by his command of the English language,I would have to say that idiot never made it past 7th grade.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco is worried about how all this will affect tourism.  

Got to get the voters back. Can't have them settling in somewhere else.

"I mean, what's the chances of ANOTHER hurricane coming?  There's only a month left in the season."

Mayor Nagin doesn't care about black people.