Levee District shows plans for Lakeside

The St. Mary Parish Levee District staff has made contact with 12 of 15 Lakeside Subdivision homeowners who would be directly affected by planned levee improvements, hoping to build support for an option that includes a breakwater.
The search for a funding source continues for a project that could cost up to $30 million.
The district, the pre-consolidation Gravity Drainage District No. 2 and the parish government have been working on levee improvements for Morgan City. The goal is to offer protection against a 100-year flood event.
The most challenging part of the project is the stretch including Siracusa, Lakeside and Lake End Park.
The district staff has settled on a plan that includes a breakwater in Lake Palourde to allow a lower barrier between the lake and the subdivision.
The staff hopes to build a consensus in the subdivision and among the public.
Kevin O’Gorman of T. Baker Smith LLC, the civil engineering firm working on the project, told the board at Thursday’s meeting that the reaction among the homeowners most directly affected has generally been positive.
What homeowners have seen so far is a “high-level concept” that will have to include more detailed plans later.
“It’s definitely something you have to do on a case by case basis,” O’Gorman said. “The same solution won’t work for everyone.”
Aside from the homeowners closest to Lake Palourde, about 350 homes would benefit from the added protection, Executive Director Tim Matte said.
Paying for the work will pose another challenge.
Matte said one possible source is funding through the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
“We are on the CPRA’s radar for this project,” Matte told the board.
The levee improvements, coupled with upgrades in the pump stations that move flood water out of Morgan City, offer more than just protection to property.
The improvements are also designed to keep flood insurance premiums within reach of city homeowners.
The levee improvements are part of a Levee District project list that also includes the Bayou Chene and Bayou Teche flood control projects and levee improvements in the area near Metal Shark.