Flood woes all too familiar for many in Basin

Routine flooding has become the new normal for many residents and business owners in the Atchafalaya Basin.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New Orleans District held a meeting Wednesday at Morgan City High School to discuss with the public the effects of the opening of the Morganza Spillway on the area.

State leaders, through the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, have committed to fully funding the roughly $7 million project to install a temporary floodgate on Bayou Chene to prevent additional backwater flooding in the Atchafalaya Basin caused by the Morganza opening. Closure of Bayou Chene should be finished by June 5.

This year the eastern United States has seen its wettest year of the past 124 years, which made diverting flow from the Mississippi River through the Morganza structure necessary, said Maj. Jordon Davis, deputy commander for the New Orleans District.

Authorities will begin with a “slow” opening of Morganza June 2, meaning that the amount of water released will gradually increase over multiple days until the total flow reaches 150,000 cubic feet per second, said Maj. Jordan Davis, the Corps’ deputy district commander.

Officials expect water levels on the Atchafalaya to rise from June 12 to June 15 with a projected 10-foot crest June 18. The river was sitting at roughly 8 1/2 feet Wednesday, Davis said.

Those affected by high water in the area expressed their concerns during Wednesday’s meeting.

Steve Bergeron owns a storage facility on the unprotected side of the floodwall along Front Street in Morgan City.

A portion of that building has flooded each year since 2011. And for the past three to five years, the facility has been inundated with water, Bergeron said.

Flood waters have caused significant damage to the building and carried away the dock.

“There’s nothing we can do about it, because we have no recourse from either the Corps of Engineers or the federal government,” he said.

Bergeron is considering relocation and mitigation “that would help us relocate it as well as all the other business owners on Front Street,” Bergeron said.

“We’re still paying taxes on the building. Everybody pays those taxes, and we’re looking for something back that would help us,” Bergeron said.

Jim Waskom, director of the Governor’s Office Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said a federal emergency declaration must be issued before individuals can receive hazard mitigation flood relief assistance.

Later Wednesday, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that President Donald Trump approved his request for a federal disaster declaration for Louisiana’s flooding issues.

The temporary Bayou Chene closure this year should keep the backwater flooding in lower St. Martin Parish from getting any worse and provide some relief for residents, St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said.

Lakeside Subdivision resident Terry Guarisco expressed concern and frustration over this area of Morgan City not yet being protected by the levee system.

“It’s like we don’t exist. They’ve done all the other levees except the one at the lakefront of Lakeside,” Guarisco said.

Guarisco has heard some explanations for why Lakeside, which is located on the banks of Lake Palourde, isn’t receiving flood protection. But he and others were concerned whether the community would need protection again from sand-filled Hesco baskets as was done in the 2011 flood.

Tim Matte, executive director of the St. Mary Levee District, said authorities don’t anticipate needing to place Hesco baskets along Lakeside Subdivision. However, if the need does arise to place those baskets to protect Lakeside, “we could easily mobilize some protection across there,” Matte said.

Officials are still trying to determine the proper way to provide permanent protection for Lakeside. Lack of funds has also stalled progress on that project, Matte said.

All of the levees except in Lakeside were raised substantially since 2011 as part of the Morgan City Levee Improvements Project. Also, the Bayou Chene closure should alleviate any flooding issues in Lakeside, Matte said.

The Siracusaville area just outside of the Morgan City limits should be well protected from flooding, too, with completion of a project to raise levees protecting that community.

Carol Aucoin lives and operates a bed and breakfast in Belle River in Assumption Parish. Her yard has over a foot of water in it, and the road leading to her business has more than 1 1/2 feet over it. Flooding has been an issue for that area since February, Aucoin said.

Flooding has become a major issue for residents to even be able to travel in higher vehicles, such as trucks, Aucoin said.

Aucoin is worried about how much backwater flooding the Morganza opening will cause once it’s opened to the maximum projected 150,000 cubic feet per second level in the next couple of weeks.

The St. Mary Levee District, which installed temporary floodgates on Bayou Chene in 2011 and 2016, is again managing this year’s closure. Officials said they weren’t able to make a decision sooner to install a temporary floodgate, because they had to first make sure the state would commit to funding the project.

By summer 2021, officials hope to have the $80 million permanent floodgate in place. At that point, officials will be able to make a decision to close the permanent gate and make the closure within half a day, said state Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin.

Thomas Olander, chairman of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, said the Atchafalaya River to the west part of Vermilion Bay is inundated with freshwater, which has been catastrophic for the shrimping industry. Olander asked what’s being done to help commercial fishermen in St. Mary, Vermilion and Iberia parishes.

Allain said state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials are aware of the situation and working with the governor to determine what can be done to help commercial fishermen.