The New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working for at least two years on a $4B plan to protect St. Tammany Parish from severe flooding.
A revised plan, which the Corps made public July 14, is the latest in a string of drafts going back to 2021, when the mammoth plan was first announced.
In the new version, the Corps proposes to lengthen an 18-mile levee that would run from near Lacombe, south Slidell and wrap around the eastern edge of the city.
The plan proposes to build eight new pumping stations, floodgates and elevate a section of I-10 over the new levee.
The big changes in this draft are that the levee has been extended toward Lacombe on its western side, and that 2,000 fewer structures would be elevated, dropping the number to 6,500.
These updates strengthen the cost-benefit ratio and increase the chances for funding, experts say.
Not everyone in the parish will get equal protection if this version of the plan goes into effect.
“I think a lot of people think that, well, the schools are there and the well is there ... and the firehouse is there, surely they’re going to be protected,” said St. Tammany Parish Council Chairman Jake Airey, referring to Slidell area neighborhoods on the east side of Military Road. “That’s not necessarily the case.”
Even though the specifics of the project have already been debated for two years, the Corps isn't likely to start construction for at least 3-to-5 years. "We don't know when Congress will authorize the project," Dixon said.
The Corps will hold two public meetings on the plan, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m.at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium; and a second Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Firehouse Event Center in Covington. The public comment period is open until Sept. 6 and can comments can be submitted by email to sttammanyfs@usace.army.mil. (NOLA.com 07/30/23) Longer levee, fewer home elevations in Tammany flood plan | One Tammany | nola.com
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