Flooding in West St Mary
The lack of a flood gate to keep away rising tides from the Gulf of Mexico, caused more than 1,000 homes in St. Mary Parish from Franklin through Garden City to the east, to take in water from Hurricane Ike’s rip along the St. Mary Parish Coast Saturday afternoon.
Franklin Mayor Raymond Harris said efforts to build a 6ft levee along the Franklin Canal in order to protect residents who live to the east of Willow Street, failed, sending water to east of the canal. However, loop holes in the levee sent water west of the canal, into the Pecan Acres area of Franklin.
Senator Mary Landrieu, who along with State Rep. Sam Jones, witnessed the scene at the Franklin Canal, on an overpass high above the area.
“This is proof that coastal restoration isn’t just about saving our marshes, but about saving homes and property,” Landrieu said. “Now that Ike has hit the Texas coast, maybe the nation will realize that there are disasters happening right here in America that our homeland security need to focus on. This isn’t just the Gulf Coast, it’s America’s Energy Coast.”
Jones however, doesn’t understand why Franklin city leaders haven’t begun the process of getting a flood gate at the base of the canal, near Vermillion Bay. The State Rep, who is also a longtime former Mayor of Franklin, and most recently Director of Rural Programs for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said the issue should have been addressed immediately after Hurricane Rita, which shined the “first spotlight” on the problem.
Jones said when he was working for Blanco, he worked together with former State Rep. Jack Smith, to assist in the city obtaining funds for protection along with Franklin Canal.
“We got the city $600,000 so that they could begin addressing this problem,” Jones said.
Also, Jones said the City Council held a public hearing on the matter earlier this year, but “…nothing has come afterwards.”
Harris said he “does not have time to sit and wait for a study.”
“At that public hearing, I along with the Council, decided it would be more prudent to build a permanent levee around the canal, because after all, $600,000 isn’t enough money to build a flood gate,” the Franklin mayor said.
“Trust me, I’m all for a flood gate, but that isn’t going to quickly answer the needs of people right now,” he said.
“So moving forward with plans to build a permanent levee required us to obtain signatures from property owners, in order to do engineering surveys of the area. We just got the final signature, to begin the surveys two weeks before Hurricane Gustav, as there were more than 15 property owners involved,” Harris said.
“But with the onslaught of Hurricane Ike, I had to take matters into my own hands to make every attempt possible to save people’s property,” he said.
“I just don’t have time to play politics like other politicians,” he said.
Harris said he built the 6ft levee for $80,000 in materials, and this was with the city’s own funds, and not money earmarked previously from the Blanco campaign.
St. Mary Parish Director of Homeland Security Duval Arthur said a similar problem exists along the Hanson Canal, which veers east of the Franklin Canal. Arthur, on the job since 2006, said he has since found a levee once existed at the base of the Hanson Canal, but is no longer there.
“Our lack of protection along the Hanson Canal has caused flooding as far east as Garden City, as well as along Bayou Teche, where water has entered the Eastwood area in Franklin,” Arthur said.
“This area needs to be placed on a top priority concern list when it comes to protection from the Gulf of Mexico which is less than five miles from Vermillion Bay, which has got slammed from high tides, beginning with Hurricane Lilly in my opinion,” Arthur said.
“I admire the valiant effort by Mayor Harris, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough,” he said.
Franklin Mayor Raymond Harris said efforts to build a 6ft levee along the Franklin Canal in order to protect residents who live to the east of Willow Street, failed, sending water to east of the canal. However, loop holes in the levee sent water west of the canal, into the Pecan Acres area of Franklin.
Senator Mary Landrieu, who along with State Rep. Sam Jones, witnessed the scene at the Franklin Canal, on an overpass high above the area.
“This is proof that coastal restoration isn’t just about saving our marshes, but about saving homes and property,” Landrieu said. “Now that Ike has hit the Texas coast, maybe the nation will realize that there are disasters happening right here in America that our homeland security need to focus on. This isn’t just the Gulf Coast, it’s America’s Energy Coast.”
Jones however, doesn’t understand why Franklin city leaders haven’t begun the process of getting a flood gate at the base of the canal, near Vermillion Bay. The State Rep, who is also a longtime former Mayor of Franklin, and most recently Director of Rural Programs for former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said the issue should have been addressed immediately after Hurricane Rita, which shined the “first spotlight” on the problem.
Jones said when he was working for Blanco, he worked together with former State Rep. Jack Smith, to assist in the city obtaining funds for protection along with Franklin Canal.
“We got the city $600,000 so that they could begin addressing this problem,” Jones said.
Also, Jones said the City Council held a public hearing on the matter earlier this year, but “…nothing has come afterwards.”
Harris said he “does not have time to sit and wait for a study.”
“At that public hearing, I along with the Council, decided it would be more prudent to build a permanent levee around the canal, because after all, $600,000 isn’t enough money to build a flood gate,” the Franklin mayor said.
“Trust me, I’m all for a flood gate, but that isn’t going to quickly answer the needs of people right now,” he said.
“So moving forward with plans to build a permanent levee required us to obtain signatures from property owners, in order to do engineering surveys of the area. We just got the final signature, to begin the surveys two weeks before Hurricane Gustav, as there were more than 15 property owners involved,” Harris said.
“But with the onslaught of Hurricane Ike, I had to take matters into my own hands to make every attempt possible to save people’s property,” he said.
“I just don’t have time to play politics like other politicians,” he said.
Harris said he built the 6ft levee for $80,000 in materials, and this was with the city’s own funds, and not money earmarked previously from the Blanco campaign.
St. Mary Parish Director of Homeland Security Duval Arthur said a similar problem exists along the Hanson Canal, which veers east of the Franklin Canal. Arthur, on the job since 2006, said he has since found a levee once existed at the base of the Hanson Canal, but is no longer there.
“Our lack of protection along the Hanson Canal has caused flooding as far east as Garden City, as well as along Bayou Teche, where water has entered the Eastwood area in Franklin,” Arthur said.
“This area needs to be placed on a top priority concern list when it comes to protection from the Gulf of Mexico which is less than five miles from Vermillion Bay, which has got slammed from high tides, beginning with Hurricane Lilly in my opinion,” Arthur said.
“I admire the valiant effort by Mayor Harris, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment