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The Bayou Lafourche Mississippi River Re-Introduction and Pumping Capacity Improvement Project in Donaldsonville went out to bid for construction. Bayou Lafourche serves as a main water source in the area for residents of Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, and Ascension parishes and provides water for agriculture and industry in the region. The restoration project will reconnect the Mississippi River into Bayou Lafourche, which then leads into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), and Grand Bayou. It will help restore parts of the Bayou Region’s land loss and improve water quality.
“This is another infrastructure win for south Louisiana. None of us were around in 1903 when they cut off the connection of the Mississippi River to Bayou Lafourche, but we’re all paying for it now. The bayou was the largest distributary of the river and the primary source of freshwater and sediment for the region. We’ve seen land loss and saltwater intrusion ever since. This project helps to improve the connection of the Mississippi River and the Lafourche basin — helping restore the health of the bayou and adjacent communities. People have been talking about improving freshwater flows for decades, we are excited this next component is moving forward,” Garret Graves said.
The modernized pump station at the top of Bayou Lafourche received the final U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) permit which was a key component to completing the regional approach to reviving Bayou Lafourche.
By increasing the capacity of the Mississippi River entering the bayou, the high flows will counter saltwater intrusion on the coast – countering coastal erosion – and improve water quality for residents of Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, and Ascension parishes.
