Levee district members explain plans, hear west end concerns

St. Mary Levee District held a public meeting Tuesday at the Baldwin Community Center to discuss flooding issues in St. Mary and Iberia Parish.
The meeting opened with an address from St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff.
“We’ve had some major issues with St. Mary and Iberia Parish with hurricanes, drainage, and high water issues we’ve been dealing with for several years,” Hanagriff said. “And they aren’t getting any better—they are getting worse. So, I want to commend the levee district, Will Terry, and J.P. Hebert for putting this public forum together.”
The format of the meeting began with the commission members and staff explaining their goals, efforts and complications of stabilizing the water retention problem; and the remainder of the meeting was set aside to provide a floor for discourse with the gallery.
William Hidalgo Sr., P.E., explained that the district’s goal is to find a comprehensive design, that the three contemporary levee plans, the Miller Plan, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Plan and the district’s Master Plan, may work in conjunction and unfettered with whatever new measures may be devised to abate current flooding woes.
Maps of each of the plans were projected onto the wall, and were interpreted by Michael Brocato Jr., SMLD operations manager.
Among the slides of levee maps and topographical maps of levees west of Charenton was a slide that listed the “conditions to consider” in the overall hunt for solutions to flooding issues. The list was:
—Water on the inside of farmer’s levees is lower than marsh on the outside of the protection by as much as three ft.
—Levees cannot be permitted through marsh unless it is the only alternative.
—Estimated 100-feet of “Right of Way” necessary for levee and subsequent drainage ditches with possibility of more dependent on current ground elevation.
—Interior drainage would have to be reworked to accommodate pump stations.
—The sizing of pump station on Charenton Canal has come into question throughout the studies.
These as well as other mitigating factors were discussed in detail, leading to the conclusion that the ongoing water drainage crisis between St. Mary, Iberia, and surrounding parishes is at best a multi-faceted patchwork of interdependency and confluence; and at worst, a Gordian knot by which one or more affected areas must forfeit their well-being for that of the rest.
Following the situation report, the floor opened up to comment from attendees.
Specific affected areas were spoken of, and Tim Matte, SMLD executive director took notes as grievances were aired.
It was often brought up that dredging and canals should be a priority.
The US Army Corps of Engineers came under fire for the alleged algorithm for their cost/benefit ratio being one predicated on saving houses and cars, forsaking considering the cost to agriculture as a factor in new levee construction.
After the hour-long intricate dialogue, it was suggested that federal dollars were the way to achieve the changes necessary, and that a meeting should be called with US Congressman Clay Higgins and US Senator Bill Cassidy, to consult with the district.
State Senator Bret Allain stood up from the gallery, turned and faced his fellow concerned citizens, and told them that such projects to garner federal funds would have to be so expensive and would take so long that they would fall well outside the bounds of reasonable expectation for immediate relief.
“I think we need to look for solutions like dredging and jetties, the kind of things that will better insulate us from the Atchafalaya, and spend our money there,” Allain said.
From there, the meeting was directed toward its conclusion; but not before Hidalgo hammered home the name of the principal issue of concern, saying, “Remember, when you are out there discussing this issue with others, the issue is: Back-water flooding from the Atchafalaya.”