Bid opened for key flood protection work

Portions of Morgan City hit by home flooding during Hurricane Francine moved a bit closer to a remedy Monday.
The lone bid for an upgrade to a key pump station was opened at the Emergency Operations Center and came in below the original cost estimate. If the bid is formally accepted, Pump Station No. 4 in the Marquis Manor area will have five pumps and engines to run them.
Now the challenge is time and the approaching hurricane season.
Among those present for the bid opening Monday were Executive Director Tim Matte and Operations Manager Michael Brocato of the St. Mary Levee District, which is administering the work funded with $12 million-$14 million from the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and Parish Councilman Mark Duhon, whose district covers a portion of Consolidated Drainage District 2A.
The district operates a series of pump stations designed to move water outside the levees in Morgan City when heavy rain falls.
The Francine flooding exposed weaknesses in the system, pushing water into more than 300 Morgan City homes.
Parish President Sam Jones sought funding from CPRA Chairman Gordon “Gordy” Dove. The funding of up to $14 million has been earmarked for Pump Station No. 4; No. 6 near the Central Fire Station; No. 8 in the Siracusa area; and No. 9, the station that was moved from near Ochsner St. Mary to near Lake Palourde.
Pump Station No. 4 is first in line for the station upgrades.
The bid opened Monday is for just less than $712,000. It was submitted by Associated Pump & Supply of Houma. The pre-bid cost estimate for the work was $775,000.
The company’s Paul Klingman gave what he described as a worst-case completion time of six months.
“I don’t know if we’ll be able to do it before hurricane season,” the parish president said in an interview after the meeting.
The work begins as District 2A is seeking renewal of a 2.79-mill property tax in Saturday’s election. Even with the state money for the pump station upgrades, commission members have said, the district still faces the need to rent pumps in preparation for tropical weather this summer and fall.
“That’s definitely going to have to happen,” Jones said.
The tax raises an estimated $385,000 a year and is a major funding source for the drainage district.