Flood risk? Mayor gives a warning to Parish Council

The mayor of Morgan City is warning that an inadequate pump station could leave homes and busi-nesses in the city vulnerable to flood damage.
A letter from St. Mary Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 2 and 2A to the Parish Council acknowledged the need to deal with problems at the new pump station near Lake End Park. But the letter said pumps are able to reduce the flood risk.
Mayor Lee Dragna gave his warning to the Parish Council at the July 26 Parish Council meeting.
District No. 2 has operated a series of pumps in Morgan City to remove water from the city during heavy rains. District 2 was consolidated with District 1 in Amelia to form District 2A.
A recent test of the new pump station — Pump Station No. 9 — showed that the pumps began to exhibit vibration that Dragna described as “astronomical” when they got to a level of -3 feet, he said at the July 26 St. Mary Parish Council meeting. That means the pumps can’t remove water fast enough, Dragna said.
The letter from the district, over the signature of district Chairman Charlie Solar, said the pumps perform fairly well at higher elevations. “However, they exhibit problems when pumping below -4’ in elevation. Our intent has been to pump down to a -6’ elevation at that station.”
Dragna blamed the problems on a lack of an elevation survey by the T. Baker Smith engineering firm, which took over work on the new pump station that had been started by Boh Brothers.
“Basically,” Dragna said, “we put everyone on notice it would not be an act of God at this point if someone’s home flooded in Morgan City. It would be an act of the pump station not being adequate.”
He said a rain of 2 or 3 inches could cause flooding. He recommended restoring the old pumps to duty.
The drainage district letter painted a less dire picture. In it, Solar said the test showed the pumps handle 90,000-100,000 gallons of water per minute at -1 foot elevation, and 60,000-70,000 in the -3 to -4 range.
“While this is not ideal,” Solar wrote, “we believe the pumps could be utilized in a Hurricane Harvey situation to mitigate our flood risks. But, we would likely have some water retention on our streets.”
In the meantime, the district is consulting with its contractors, engineers, and pump and motor experts to develop a plan to “have Pump Station 9 meeting its operational requirements.”
The district also has four temporary pumps that could be used.
“Please know that it is our primary goal to get Pump Station 9 fully operational as expeditiously as possible,” Solar wrote. “Once that is completed, we intend, with the assistance of counsel, to complete a review of the project and to protect our interests financially.”
Asked for a response, a spokesman for T. Baker Smith referred the Review to Solar’s letter.
Dragna traded words with Parish President David Hanagriff, who supported the drainage district consolidation that Dragna opposed.
Hanagriff noted that Dragna chaired the District 2 board in November 2018, when planning for the new pump station was underway. And Solar is Dragna’s chief operating officer in the Morgan City government, Hanagriff said.
Dragna replied that the early work was done by Boh Brothers, which had built the largest drainage pumps in the state in New Orleans. And Solar didn’t become chairman of the district until after the concrete for the project was poured, he said.
Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick moved to cut off the discussion. As he left the lectern, Dragna said, “I’m trying to figure out how the citizens of Morgan City always get the shaft.”