Pumping station upgrades improving West Bank drainage

Courtesy Photo

An "after" picture of the Boutte pumping station.

Work on a trio of pumping stations on the West Bank of St. Charles Parish is improving drainage in three of the parish’s most populous towns.

In Luling, the Lakewood station has enjoyed an upgrade with the installation of automatic bar screen cleaners. The project, awarded by the Parish Council to Sealevel Construction Inc. in June, has reached substantial completion. The $1.29 million improvements allow the station to operate at its maximum capacity of 68,000 gallons per minute during heavy rain events. The station drains the Lakewood subdivision and parts of Mimosa Park.

A Hazard Mitigation Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency funded the project. According to the 2010 Census, Luling has more residents than any other town in St. Charles Parish, with 12,119 people.

In Boutte (population 3,075), the pump station located at the end of Turner Lane is looking more like its counterparts around the parish with the installation of a fence around the station and concrete slab meant for an emergency generator. The Boutte station’s two pumps were completely replaced as well. Capacity now equals 53,000-gallons-per-minute, almost double the previous capacity of 34,000-gallons-per-minute.

The Parish Council awarded low bidder BLD Services LLC the construction contract for the station in September in the amount of $862,103. The improvements also included upgrades to the station’s failing deck and foundation, as well as the installation of a more adequate access road for regular maintenance.
Boutte pump station helps drain residential areas directly to the west of Paul Maillard Road between the area’s two railroad tracks.
“Out of all the improvements made at pumping stations in 2010, the work at Boutte is  probably the most substantial, from a before and after standpoint,” Public Works Director Sam Scholle said. “We’re able now to really ensure proper maintenance for that particular station.”
In Paradis, a very visible automatic bar screen cleaner installation to the south of Highway 90 is having a big impact on drainage in the area.
Motorists going to and from the town of 1,298 can easily spot the blue cleaners and new deck attached to the workhorse station, with a capacity of 39,000-gallons-per-minute. Sealevel Construction Inc. completed the work recently at a cost of $843,253 after final change orders. Funding assistance in the amount of $750,000 came from a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant.
St. Charles Parish is home to 50 pumping stations that help drain the majority of the parish’s over 50 miles of canals and ditches.