Drainage relief sought for Houma’s Sylvia Street area

Terrebonne Parish plans to purchase property worth $375,000 through the Sales Tax Fund to alleviate flooding on Sylvia Street in Houma.

“There is not enough capacity in the older culverts to contain the flow,” Capital Projects Administrator Jeanne Bray said. “What we can do is put a small reservoir so the area doesn’t flood.”

The property will be used for a second detention pond in the area. The detention pond will serve as a place to hold rainwater and then drain it.

This will be the third and final phase of the drainage project for Sylvia Street.

“We did a phase already and this is a continuation of the project. The first phase we put in a reservoir. It is a small detention pond. We are now implementing the next part of the project,” Bray said. “Phase three is putting a new pond or reservoir that can retain water in the pond instead of on the streets.”

The ponds are designed to hold water for a certain amount of time before draining.

“The best way to describe a detention pond is much like when a kid gets a detention in school,” Zoning Administrator Chris Pulaski said. “When someone gets detention, they are held for a certain amount of time and released. A detention pond works the same way.”

The two ponds will help the drainage system in the area by creating more capacity for water flow.

“It creates more retention of drainage with less impact of overall drainage system,” Director of Planning and Zoning Pat Gordon said.