By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The residents of Foxwood and LaPlace Park were invited to voice their concerns and ask questions during a town hall meeting, hosted by St. John the Baptist Parish District IV councilman Marvin “Butch” Perrilloux.
Each resident was given a copy of an aerial map of their subdivision for reference. The meeting was divided into two portions for the residents of each subdivision.
For the LaPlace Park portion of the meeting, engineer Rick Shread revealed the parish’s plans to construct a levee along the western side of the subdivision to prevent backwater flooding from Lake Maurepas. A portion of the levee will run along the east side of Haydel Canal and will cross over to the west side at some points. Culverts will be added to the canal in this case, with a levee connecting the two sides.
During recent survey work efforts, it was discovered that parts of the existing levee on east side of the canal were allegedly constructed without the permission of the parish on private property, thus halting the process of updating the levee system. Shread said that there is also no existing drainage servitude near this levee. Both issues are serious impediment to the project.
After discussion, parish representatives came to the consensus that the most cost-effective option in this case would be to approach the property owners and make them aware of the situation and offer to purchase the land to acquire the servitudes that are on the property. The property owners also have the option to donate the land.
Parish President Natalie Robottom said the project relies almost completely on the will of the homeowners at this point. If any one landowner refuses, the parish will be forced to consider other more expensive solutions.
“If we get to one that says no, it’s done. Everyone has to agree. If we don’t get everyone on that side to agree, we can’t do that project,” said Robottom.
During the Foxwood portion, Shread explained that the drainage system in the subdivision drained by gravity. There are no problems when the water in the canal is low. With rainfall, however, backwater flooding through the lake backs up water into the canal and wetlands, preventing it from escaping the subdivision.
Shread said the parish’s proposed solution is to first build a levee around the subdivision to prevent backwater flooding and also add a lift station to remove water from the subdivision.
The proposed levee will begin at the access road to the subdivision and go behind the homes on the western side, tying into LaPlace Park Levee. Shread said the levee would be built to a base flood elevation of 7 feet on all sides except the eastern side. Here, it would be built to a BFE of 6 feet because the area behind the homes on this side does not provide enough room to build to the higher height.
The parish would also build up the roadway into the Foxwood subdivision so it would serve as part of the levee system. The submersible lift station would force the water that flows by gravity from the pond into the LaPlace Plantation Canal. The lift station would have gates placed on the ends in order to prevent water from backing up.
According to Robottom, the $1.7 million dollar project has been approved already.