Louisiana announces first $163 million of $1.2 billion for flood mitigation, stormwater management

This March, the Louisiana Watershed Initiative has announced its first grants from the $1.2 billion package first announced in April 2018.

The LWI announced its first $163 million distribution for its $1.2 billion plan. A full list of the awarded projects can be found at the bottom of this story. Though some projects have shared groundbreaking dates, no project has a listed completion date.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a $1.2 billion line of credit for Louisiana for flood control and prevention projects in April 2018. This credit was part of a $90 billion national disaster-recovery package passed by Congress in February 2018.

Louisiana was eligible for this package after the Great Floods of 2016, where extreme rainfall caused riverine and flash flooding, 50,000 to 75,000 structures were flooded, and 13 people had died.

In response to the Great Floods and recovery package, officials created the Council on Watershed Management in May 2018.  The Council then launched the Louisiana Watershed Initiative in August 2018, with a watershed-based approach to reducing flood risk.

However, the Department of Housing and Urban Development didn’t make the $1.2 billion available until September 2020. Louisiana officials worked quickly to distribute these funds to eligible projects.

Louisiana’s 133-page Action Plan for the $1.2 billion gives emphasis to a few key programs: the creation or restoration of wetlands with possible enhancement through blue and green infrastructure, the improvement of water conveyance infrastructure, neighborhood-scale buyouts for high-risk areas, residential elevations for communities that cannot relocate, subsidies for flood-resistant housing, technical assistance for local policy/awareness, and watershed monitoring, mapping, and modeling.

The state is currently still working on extensive watershed modeling, to predict which future projects will best mitigate flood risk. Though some models are now available, full modeling may not be complete until the end of 2023.

Funding for announced projects includes:

• $42 million for the excavation of two drainage basins through La. Hwy 22 and construction of two new bridge structures which will reduce water surface elevation on the Amite River and restore flows into the McElroy Swamp.

• $25 million for the Mermentau Basin inundation relief project, which will link existing drainage laterals along La. Hwy. 82 to convey stormwater north of the highway, widen downstream channels and install new gates at the East End Locks and other drainage features to manage the additional flow and enhance flood storage within the basin
• $15 million for Livingston Parish drainage improvements, which will involve lateral drainage work to reduce floodwater inundation, including reshaping eroded banks, repairing levees and other structures and removing debris from about 145 miles of stream channels that connect to the parish’s previously cleared waterways
• $14.3 million for Anacoco Creek watershed improvements, including spillway modifications and gate installations on both Vernon Lake Dam and Lower Anacoco Lake Dam that will allow for rapid drawdown of the lakes prior to a forecasted event
• $12.89 million for  Bundick Lake flood surcharge management, including spillway modifications and new gate installations that will allow for rapid drawdown of the lake prior to a forecasted event
• $10.2 million for Turkey Creek retention improvements and critical infrastructure hardening, including modifications replacing the existing spillway with a concrete chute spillway that has integrated gates for lowering the water level of the lake and hardening the embankment.
• $20 million for buyouts, elevations or reconstructions of residential properties in flood-prone areas.
• $6.6 million for Black Bayou structure hardening and runoff retention improvements, including replacing the existing spillway with a concrete chute spillway that has control gates to manage the lake level, along with hardening to reduce risk of damage to critical infrastructure (La. Hwy. 2, water line and fiber optic line) during significant runoff events.
• $5 million for the University Lakes flood risk reduction project, which includes the excavation and/or dredging of four of the six lakes (City Park, Erie, Campus and College lakes); the removal, improvement or construction of flood control structures; and earthwork and/or grading to improve drainage and reduce flood risk to surrounding areas.
• $3.7 million for LSU Alexandria campus drainage improvements, including the installation of underground drainage piping, structures and sidewalk trench drains to alleviate flooding impacts in low-lying areas and improve the conveyance of stormwater to the recently constructed drainage canal.
• $2.97 million for Three Mile Lake backwater flood reduction, including the installation of a closure structure across Two Mile Bayou, construction of a dike along an existing driveway on the west side of the development and replacement of three pipe drainage structures with adequately sized pipe structures that have flap gates to prevent backwater flooding
• $2.7 million for Caney Lake flood surcharge management, including modification of the existing dam and spillway structure to provide additional management gates, which will allow lake drawdowns in advance of forecasted events to provide additional storm storage within the lake basin
• $2.2 million for Bayou Cocodrie runoff retention and critical infrastructure improvements, including replacement of an existing single-gate pipe structure with a multiple-gate pipe structure that allows for lake drawdown and provides for minimum flow during low-flow conditions
• $1.1 million for Iatt Lake drawdown improvements, including the replacement of one of the existing sluice gates and installation of a new weir gate allowing lake drawdown preceding a forecasted storm event and allowing the water to discharge into the Red River prior to the peak stage