Last week, the Council on Watershed Management met to discuss the state's ongoing efforts to reduce statewide flood risk through the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. The meeting was open to the public and held at the Louisiana State Capitol in House Committee Room 1.

• Data experts provided an overview of data and modeling recommendations, including minimum data standards, data collection practices and quality assurance and control measures. Referenced documents are now available for review and public comment until May 30 by clicking here.
• Dr. Ehab Meselhe with Tulane University and Dr. Emad Habib with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette provided an update on the ongoing development of a statewide modeling framework.
• The Council received an overview of the Amite River Basin Model, which will serve as a tool to help scientists, engineers, regulators and other experts assess flood risk associated with planning and project impacts.
• State agency staff updated the Council on other ongoing efforts of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. These updates included an overview of planned outreach to parish leadership throughout the state in April and May 2019 with a focus on receiving feedback and input from local elected officials and their staff.

The meeting was streamed live on Facebook and through the Louisiana Legislature website. To access this archived video, click here. To download the full meeting presentation, click here.

If you have any questions about items discussed during this Council meeting or other matters related to the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, please email watershed@la.gov.