Could more money be on the way for Lafourche levees?

The South Lafourche Levee District stands to gain up to $29 million, monies unspent on several New Orleans area levee projects, according to the district’s general manager.

Windell Curole, who oversees the levee district, said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced at last week’s meeting in Galliano that the funding has been piecemealed together from surplus monies from several post-Katrina projects.

Because the monies have already been appropriated, Curole said he does not expect the process of redirecting the cash to Lafourche Parish to be cumbersome. “All Congress has to do is authorize the transfer of the money from one project to the other,” he said.

District officials have long maintained and complained to the Corps – that the levee project surrounding south Lafourche has long been ignored because it was one of the few areas that saw little damage from the storms of 2005.

In essence, Curole argued, the levee district was penalized for its past successes.

Should the district receive the funds, the levee district manager expects the money to be spent on the west side of Bayou Lafourche. “The west side is where there is the most concern at the present time,” he said, specifically noting the area from the Leon Theriot floodgate south of Golden Meadow north to the Cut Off area.

According to Curole this is the area where there is the most open water outside the system.

He also expects to use some of the funds to bolster and possibly raise several of the floodwalls that are connected to the earthen levee near floodgates, which are strategically placed throughout the 44-mile system.

“We have already bolstered some of the areas around the floodwalls with rocks to help support a tidal rush,” Curole said. “We will sit down with our engineers to determine what will be the best use in spending the funds but those are some critical areas and needs that would be seriously considered. We’ll do whatever is the most cost effective and where we can get the most bang for the buck.”

Curole also explained that contracts will be signed in the coming weeks for work on the east side of Bayou Lafourche.

The scope of the project consists of shoring and raising the levee back to its original design height and, in some cases, to heights beyond design specifications.

Improvements have been made in the Clovelly area in Cut Off on the east side. He said the next area slated for work extends from the Leon Theriot floodgate north to Yankee Canal in the Golden Meadow area.

Following that, Curole said work will be done from Yankee Canal north to the area of the LOOP (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port) facility in the Galliano area.

Original design heights for the ring levee were 10 feet above sea level in the Larose area to 13 feet above sea level below Golden Meadow.

However, Curole said that those heights will be very likely be raised when the Corps releases its new 100-year flood protection requirements in the coming months.