Matte: Parish in better shape against hurricanes

St. Mary Parish is in a much better position to provide flood protection for its communities this hurricane season than it has been in previous years with the addition of levee improvements and flood control structures, St. Mary Levee District Executive Tim Matte said Thursday.
The levee district commission held its monthly meeting Thursday at the St. Mary Parish Courthouse in Franklin.
The improved flood protection is due to the fact that Franklin Canal and Hanson Canal, in the western part of the parish, can now be closed to prevent flooding, Matte said. Additionally, Yellow Bayou, also in west St. Mary Parish, will soon be able to be closed off, when necessary. Levees are also being raised at Hanson Canal and Yellow Bayou and on the south side of Berwick, Matte said.
The Franklin Canal Floodgate was completed in November 2013 and now work continues to build a pump station to pump water out when the gate is closed in the event of a flood. The station will consist of two pumps with space for two more pumps. Construction on the station is scheduled for completion by Sept. 29.
At Thursday’s meeting, Matte said the Hanson Canal floodgate and floodwall is 95 percent complete. Work is getting ready to commence on the Yellow Bayou project, Matte said. At the beginning of hurricane season, the Yellow Bayou project will be in the early stages, but by late August, significant work will have been done on the flood control structure, Matte said. The majority of work on Yellow Bayou will be finished by mid-September, the heart of hurricane season, Matte said.
Improvements to the Wax Lake East levees, which protect Berwick from flood waters, are about 60 percent complete, Matte said. By the levee district’s May meeting, a substantial part of the work, including the desired levee elevation, will be complete by that time, Matte said. Levee district officials contacted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to identify the steps required to certify those levees for flood protection, Matte said.
Those levees are being raised by one to two feet in certain spots along a 2,700-foot-long stretch of levees that the corps identified as deficient for 100-year flood protection. Once the corps deems the levees sufficient for flood protection, FEMA would be able to redo its flood maps for that area, labeling the levees certified for flood insurance purposes. Thus, the Town of Berwick could go ahead and adopt the 2008 Digital Flood Insurance Rate maps it had not yet adopted.
On Thursday, engineers submitted the permit application for the Bayou Teche closure project, Jeff Peña of CB&I said. The wetland delineation for the project was supposed to begin this week, Peña said. This project aims to close off Bayou Teche at its intersection with the Charenton Canal.
The board authorized the levee district to reapply for a Statewide Flood Control Grant regarding the $10 million Bayou Teche project. The district was previously turned down for grant funding on that project.
“We’re pursuing whatever ideas we can finding funding for that project,” Matte said. Matte plans to approach the Parish Council soon to see if it has funds available, he said.
Miller Engineers is assisting with the project to secure right-of-entry requests, Pena said. The board approved adding Miller Engineers to the project to do that work for about $2,000.
The Siracusaville portion of the Morgan City Levee Improvements project is anticipated to complete the final design phase by the end of April, at which time that levee stretch would be able to go out to bid for construction. The Siracusaville part of the project is being operated by the parish, Matte said.
The Justa Street to Lake End Park section of the Morgan City project may be able to move to final design by the May board meeting, Matte said. The La. 70 portion of the project has achieved 30 percent design, he said. Construction on that segment entails tying La. 70 into the levee system and raising the highway.
Levee district officials must get plans approved by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development in order to move forward with the final design phase of the La. 70 levee improvements, Matte said. A major part of that portion will be the moving of a pump station to near Lake End Park. That pump station is moving toward the 30 percent design phase, Matte said.
At the levee board meeting, Matte reported that the Corps of Engineers expects a normal to below normal spring flood. The Atchafalaya River in Morgan City reached its crest last week, and water should now start to drop.
In other business, the commission
—Authorized action to renew Matte’s contract as executive director.
—Announced the May 14 meeting to adopt the levee district’s millage rate of 5 mills.

This story was written by Zachary Fitzgerald of The Daily Review staff. Reach him at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.