{"id":4969,"date":"2016-05-18T16:57:29","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T21:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=4969"},"modified":"2016-05-18T16:57:40","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T21:57:40","slug":"name-calcasieu-parish-drainage-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2016\/05\/18\/name-calcasieu-parish-drainage-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"MY NAME IS CALCASIEU PARISH, AND I HAVE A DRAINAGE PROBLEM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Story By Brad Goins \u2022 Photos By James Welch<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shortly after 8:30 am on Saturday, April 30, your faithful correspondent was headed out to pick up a friend who was getting off work. I took a break from the deluge to gas up at Shop-A-Lot.<\/p>\n

At the store, I ran into a city worker who\u2019s long been a Shop-A-Lot regular. He strongly suggested I stop my drive and head straight home.<\/p>\n

He told me 18th Street was \u2014 at that moment \u2014 covered with the worst flooding he\u2019d ever seen on the street. He said each vehicle that moved down the street pushed water over the curb on both sides. That was something he\u2019d never seen before.<\/p>\n

I ignored him at first, as I knew my friend needed a ride. So I drove ahead.<\/p>\n

But only for a few feet. There was no denying that my small sedan (a Cobalt) was no match for the depth of the water in the street. I pulled over into the Social Security building parking lot, took a few deep breaths and headed home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A FLOOD OF COMPLAINTS<\/b><\/p>\n

According to Weather Underground, at one Lake Charles weather station, a total of 3.4 inches of rain fell on Saturday, April 30 \u2014 most of it in a few hours in the morning.<\/p>\n

The next day \u2014 Sunday, May 1 \u2014 another 5.2 inches fell. Both totals set local records for the day in question.<\/p>\n

The 5 inches of rain generated 500 complaints by local residents in local social media. Why, citizens asked, were they unable to drive around their cities and towns just because there\u2019d been a heavy rain?<\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t just citizens who were teed off. In a Facebook post, Police Juror Nic Hunter wrote, \u201cWe have a drainage crisis in Calcasieu Parish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another police juror, K\"South<\/a>evin White, wrote on April 30, \u201cI\u2019ve seen places with water where I haven\u2019t seen [it] before.\u201d (And keep in mind, that statement was made after a rain of only 3 inches had fallen that morning.)<\/p>\n

Drawing particular attention was a series of Facebook posts about local flooding by artist Candice Alexander. Her posted text included these comments:<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe that ridiculous idea for a hurricane museum and $3 household tax would stretch longer if we were smart enough in this city to fix our drainage problems …<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gonna rain again. Make sure you run your errands now before you can\u2019t use most of the public streets in Lake Charles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not normal to NOT be able to drive in a city when a rain storm comes. I\u2019m sorry. This \u2018normal\u2019 idea that some can\u2019t even leave their own homes when it rains is NOT normal.<\/p>\n

\u201c… Fix the problem so residents don\u2019t have to stand in the rain waving for passersby to NOT drive down the road. It blows my mind …<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I\u2019m not the only one who notices this. When will everyone come together and have a large enough voice to be the change? I don\u2019t know about everyone else, but in 6 years living downtown, I have yet to see it as bad as it was yesterday. \u201cIt\u2019s not OK to see a Jeep floating by from your window.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is a strong example of the voice of the citizen. But those in positions of official power were quite aware of citizen discontent about the flooded roads. Shortly after noon on April 30, Police Juror Judd Bares posted this telling comment:<\/p>\n

\u201cI COMPLETELY [his emphasis] understand that the rain has a lot of folks frustrated today …\u201d<\/p>\n

The complaints were widespread and vocal enough to attract attention in high places. But were the complaints warranted? And if they were, what are the problems that policy makers need to address?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE GOVERNING OF DRAINAGE<\/b><\/p>\n

As a police juror, Hunter was in the rare position of being able to address the ways in which government and bureaucracy were affecting local drainage in 2016. He wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Calcasieu Parish, we have seven independent Gravity and Drainage Districts; that\u2019s right … seven districts all with their own boards (five members each), superintendents, staffs, and equipment. We have taken a natural watershed that God has devised and cut it up in seven districts, many with boundaries that follow no waterways or watershed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese ma\"May<\/a>n-made, straight lines drawn on the map have set up artificial \u2018drainage walls,\u2019 where a citizen may be lucky to live on one side of the street with a drainage district that is sufficiently funded and their neighbor across the street live in a drainage district that is not sufficiently funded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdd these drainage board members to the 15 police jurors we have and the dozens of city council members from cities and we have over 50 independent minds with their own visions for drainage improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many officials working on a problem that sparks such intense emotions, is a comprehensive solution a realistic option? What about consolidation? Can consolidation really work when so many fingers are in the pie?<\/p>\n

Hunter notes that in the past, Calcasieu Parish has effectively used consolidation to solve problems related to the library systems, roads, mosquito control and juvenile justice.<\/p>\n

What would prevent consolidation from solving \u2014 or at least improving \u2014 the problem of sudden and extreme flooding of local streets? Hunter sees a risk in \u201csectionalism\u201d \u2014 the notion that drainage in one part of the area is a higher priority than drainage in other parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill we act as a unified front with cooperation and a sense of community, or will we deal in sectionalism?\u201d asks Hunter. \u201cThere is no \u2018silver bullet\u2019 that will solve our crisis, but consolidation is a good foundational start.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE ISSUE OF GROWTH<\/b><\/p>\n

With the boom underway, one can\u2019t help but consider local problems through the lens of development. Consider Alexander\u2019s recent comments on the relation between development and drainage:<\/p>\n

\u201cLake Charles keeps growing, yet the problems stay problems. The drainage gets worse …<\/p>\n

\u201c … The building continues and the condos keep rising and the toilets keep being installed … I suppose while we keep building … the problems keep getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many citizens expressed similar concerns about the relation between street flooding and development. One concern was that new developments might be creating their own drainage systems more or less pall mall, so that new run-off was joining with, and increasing, the run-off that has existed for years.<\/p>\n

Hunter \u2014 again, using dramatic language \u2014 leant an official voice to those raising the concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop the bleeding,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe must ask developers to change the way in which they develop. Constructing concrete jungles and eliminating all porous land on some lots over the past 30 years has done no favors to the drainage crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than simply pushing excess water into laterals, more water can stay on site.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also says citizens who are concerned that there might be a connection between rapid development and rapid flooding can take practical action. \u201cThe Police Jury may vote on this in the coming months. Stay active and involved. Let your Police Jurors know how you feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that official plans for the boom are supposed to provide for drainage problems as they arise. The Go Group is the official body obliged to develop plans for making changes in the infrastructure to deal with the boom. In the section titled \u201cGrowth Planning,\u201d the Go Group says that it undertakes the responsibility for:<\/p>\n

\u201cRequirements for a drainage impact analysis under certain conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrainage design standards to provide protection from flooding.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm water standards to improve the quality of surface and ground water.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoastal Zone and Flood Plain Management guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan goes on to state that \u201cThese issues are currently being addressed by the Growth Planning Task Force of the Southwest Louisiana Task Force for Growth and Opportunity (GO Group).\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BAD OLD HABITS?<\/b><\/p>\n

Could part of the problem be that local governments have been slow to maintain the drainage options that existed before the boom arrived? Are drains routinely cleared by government workers? Are drainage ditches routinely dredged?<\/p>\n

Hunter brings up one obstacle to change that\u2019s widespread in Southwest Louisiana: the common notion that things should be done in a certain way because they\u2019ve been done that way in the past. \u201cSimply continuing to do something the same way because \u2018that\u2019s just always the way we\u2019ve done it\u2019 is not a concept I agree with.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what can be done? Hunter states that there should be \u201ccomprehensive capital improvements with additional revenue to maintain what already exists and to increase capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wrote specifically about one well-known area drainage way \u2014 \u201cContraband Bayou needs to be dredged\u201d \u2014 then went on to write, \u201ccoulees and laterals downtown need to be maintained … Neighborhoods all across Lake Charles need improvements on ditches and laterals.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he did provide a cautionary note: \u201cTo accomplish all of this will cost a great deal \u2014 more than the current Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury or Gravity Drainage District budgets will allow.\u201d<\/p>\n

To some degree, citizens can be proactive in this area. Those who see a drain on their street blocked with leaves or debris can take a rake to the blockage. If they\u2019re not up to the task, they can report the problem to parish or city officials.<\/p>\n

Regardless of where you stand on the flooding and drainage issues, Hunter\u2019s last piece of advice sounds unusually practical and potentially productive:<\/p>\n

\u201cI suggest you attend the next Police Jury Drainage Committee meeting and let your voices be heard. We cannot fix our problems overnight, but we must begin somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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