Property meetings held in Lafourche

The South Lafourche Levee District held two meetings this week, one in Galliano and one in Cut Off, to discuss the upcoming project they are undertaking on the west side of Bayou Lafourche. The project, which will raise the levee on that side of the bayou to approximately 16 feet on the south end below Golden Meadow and some 13 feet on the north end in Larose, will require the district to expand their right of way. That means the Levee District will have to purchase or receive donations of additional property from landowners.

The work, which will run from approximately Oakridge Park area in Golden Meadow to near Dufrene Building Materials in Cut Off, will involve negotiating to purchase or have donated some 355 tracts of land with landowners. According to levee district general manager Windell Curole, the amount of land needed from each tract varies, from as little as 85 feet in some areas up as much as 210 feet in others.

Curole noted that while the district does not take pleasure in asking property owners to give up land, he said the work is necessary in order to continue to adequately protect the community. Many landowners at the meetings were concerned about being paid a fair value for the land they have to give up. Curole stressed that licensed professional appraisers are doing land appraisals and that two appraisals were required when evaluating the value of the land.

“While we don’t like asking people to give up more property, this method of raising the levee is the most cost effective way to do it,” he said. While many at the meeting floated the idea of having material trucked in to avoid having to give up more land, Curole said that idea has proven not to be cost effective. “We only have so much money to work with and trucking material in costs two to three times more than using material that is nearby,” Curole continued. He noted that where material remains in the current levee district right of way, that material continues to be used without asking landowners for more. “On the west side above Dufrene Lumber, there remained enough material in the current right of way that additional property was not needed for that segment,” he said.

The entire project carries an approximate price tag of $10 million and some 600,000 cubic yards of dirt will be added to the levee once the project is completed. Work is expected to begin in January and take some 18 to 24 months to complete.

Curole also encouraged any landowners with property questions or concerns to contact the levee district office in Galliano. “Most people have been cooperative. We have been talking about this for two years. The west side of the system needs attention now. Rather than take the easy way out and do nothing, we are choosing to be proactive in attempting to make the levee even stronger in order to give us a better chance at not flooding for the next big storm event,” he said.