Greetings!
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) East Baton Rouge Flood Control Project report will be presented to the East Baton Rouge Metro Council today.
Also called the “Five Bayous” Project, it is designed to quickly drain the parish during severe rain events by improving flows in Jones Creek, Ward Creek, Bayou Fountain, Blackwater Bayou, and Beaver Bayou.
Like its companion – the Comite Diversion Flood Control Project – the Five Bayous Project has been around for decades and should have been completed already. Also like Comite, there is persistent risk of missing construction deadlines. These projects together would have saved lives and billions in damages had they been in completed by the 2016 Flood and the 2021 Rain Bomb.
The Five Bayous Project will help improve major drainage by clearing and widening Beaver and Blackwater Bayous and Bayou Fountain, clearing and de-snagging debris in Jones and Ward Creeks, and adding concrete lining to portions of both waterways.
Funding for both projects has been in place since 2018. We secured $255 million to complete the Five Bayous and $343 million for the Comite Diversion – and we just added another $128 million to expedite completion of Comite. There is simply no more time to delay.
