Drainage impeded by makeshift bridges and debris

Drainage district officials in Morgan City are asking residents to help them with two issues that have impeded drainage during heavy rain events.
Someone is “building bridges,” possibly made of fencing material, over the Walnut Street drainage canal that goes through the weir directly behind Lakeside Subdivision, said Lee Dragna, chairman of St. Mary Parish Consolidated Gravity Drainage District 2. Dragna spoke at the Feb. 23 city council meeting.
Dragna thinks kids are building the makeshift bridges to get across the canal, he said.
Another issue affecting drainage in the city is people putting grass and other debris into drains, Dragna said. The drainage district has ample pumping capacity to pump out flood waters, but the water first has to get to the pumping stations, he said.
On Feb. 23, when water started rushing through the weir on Walnut Street canal, it flipped a makeshift bridge on its side and created another weir, Dragna said. So Dragna had to go to the drainage canal during the rain and remove the bridge because the canal rose two feet, and water wasn’t getting drained from the street, he said.
As soon as Dragna removed that structure, the water receded, he said.
Dragna requested the city put up a no trespassing sign discouraging people from messing with the canal.
City leaders discussed possibly placing a surveillance camera near the Walnut Street canal to catch trespassers.
Police Chief James Blair said the drainage canal isn’t feasible for police to patrol on a regular basis, as that area isn’t accessible by a police unit.
Dragna also said drainage district officials plan to keep the floodgate on Walnut Street canal closed “for a little while longer” due to the possibility of the water level rising again.