News Article

Gov. Edwards announces Louisiana Watershed Initiative to improve flood response across the state

Date:Sep 16, 2018
Published in:KLFY

BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) - Wednesday night, Governor John bel Edwards announced the launch of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative.

His office says the new endeavor is a continuation of the response to the historic floods two years ago.

In a statement, the Governor said the March and August floods of 2016 forced officials to rethink how Louisiana approaches floodplain management.

He says the initiative will be a model for how best-in-class science, engineering and objective decision making at a watershed level will form the basis of flood risk management in the state going forward.

The Council on Watershed Management is composed of Secretaries and Executive Directors of the Office of Community Development (OCD), the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

These agencies will begin working on reducing flood risks in the coming months.