Site of previous parish flooding gets elevated

The St. Charles Parish Public Works Department recently raised by 18 inches the berm levee directly to the south of homes along River Ridge Drive, armoring the area against future flooding.

Dump trucks carrying 910 cubic yards of clay descended on the 1,360-foot-long berm in October, before much of the rain associated with winter cold fronts began coming through. The area was a hot spot for home flooding resulting from Hurricane Ike in 2008 and again after extremely heavy rains in December 2009.

The parish placed temporary sandbags along the berm to fortify it against high water both in December 2009 and at the start of this most recent hurricane season.

St. Charles Parish Public Works Director Sam Scholle said the much-needed improvement would offer additional protection to residents.

“We know that folks in this particular area have been hit hard in recent years,” he said. “This project offers help with the issues the area faces with rainwater runoff backing up in the marshy area behind the homes.”

The needed project was only recently given the go-ahead by state and federal regulatory agencies after an eight-month permitting process.