Where in the world is Morganza

My mother approached me the other day with the most perplexed look on her face. Having just returned from where all local news is disseminated – the hair salon – she seemed eager to ask a question.

“We were all talking about the Morganza project at the hair salon, and a lady there said Morganza is located near Baton Rouge,” she said. “Why would we fund a project in Baton Rouge?”

With that, I realized much confusion remains about ‘Morganza-to-the-Gulf’ – the hurricane protection system that has become the most important local civil works project in Terrebonne Parish.

Tri-Parish Times hopes to help end some of the confusion. This week, we are featuring a comprehensive look at the Morganza project and its implications to the region (Section C).

Once complete, the system of levees and flood gates will connect to existing levees at Morgan City – levees that stretch all the way to the Old River Control Structure in Morganza.

Since becoming a commissioner for the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District recently, I have been active in forwarding the progress of the Morganza Project. The sooner Terrebonne Parish has hurricane protection, the sooner it can move on to other important infrastructure needs.

Growing up in Morgan City, I constantly lived with the threat of flooding from the Atchafalaya River. But after the flood of 1973, a flood control system was built there – a system that ends in Morgan City. The Morganza-to-the-Gulf project would change that.

My mother’s friend was right – Morganza is located near Baton Rouge. However, without extending the levees from Morgan City to protect Terrebonne Parish, Baton Rouge is where we all may be forced to live.