A proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to build 30 miles of levees in the Upper Barataria Basin is aiming to give storm surge and continual flooding protection to more than 800 square miles in six SE Louisiana parishes - Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist. St. Charles Parish President Matthew Jewell said the proposed levees would provide similar protection as those in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. "This is the Achilles' heel of this area in South Louisiana. But it's got to get it fixed," U.S. Rep. Garret Graves told WDSU this week. The next step is for Congress to approve full funding for the project. Louisiana would then have to approve a 35 percent match. Jewell's office said $8M has already been approved for engineering and design. A shovel-ready project could be ready within 18 months. Once funded, it would take three years to complete the entire project. (Source: WDSU 02/11/22) Barataria levee project proposes 30 miles of levee protection (wdsu.com)
The Barataria Basin is an irregularly shaped area bounded on each side by a distributary ridge formed by the present and a former channel of the Mississippi River. A chain of barrier islands separates the basin from the Gulf of Mexico. The basin contains 152,120 acres of swamp, 173,320 acres of fresh marsh, 59,490 acres of intermediate marsh, 102,720 acres of brackish marsh, and 133,600 acres of saline marsh.
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