The town of Mansura held a groundbreaking ceremony today for a $6.63 million flood mitigation project that will create a more resilient Louisiana, using the Louisiana Watershed Initiative’s approach to reducing flood risk and respecting the natural functions of the state’s watersheds.

The Bayou Lacombe Channel Improvements project will harden 3,500 feet of levee along Bayou Lacombe and remove obstructions that impede the channel’s flow by clearing, snagging and removing debris from a three-mile section of the bayou. The obstructions to the channel, which include limbs, trees, garbage, accumulated silt and tires, have created riverine flooding in the area.

Mansura Mayor Kenneth Pickett Sr. said, “This Louisiana Watershed Initiative project will greatly benefit our local community as we work toward building long-term resilience. Not only will it improve overall drainage in the Bayou Lacombe watershed area, it will mitigate flood risks for our residential, farmland and commercial properties, as well as reduce the hazards of traveling on flooded roadways. We are thrilled to move forward with LWI to protect our area from these dangers.”

The project is funded through the state’s $1.2 billion CDBG-MIT grant, which is administered by the Louisiana Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery, and is part of LWI’s Round 1 funding program for local and regional projects. Round 1 funding is designed for implementation-ready, low-risk flood mitigation projects with no potential negative impacts on surrounding areas.

The Bayou Lacombe Channel Improvements project will benefit LWI Regions 2 and 5, which are among LWI’s nine watershed regions throughout the state.

For more information about LWI, click here.