LAFOURCHE LEVEE EXCELS

Can we use this as a time to unite together?
October 4, 2017
Ellender player kneels for the national anthem, joining NFL protests
October 4, 2017
Can we use this as a time to unite together?
October 4, 2017
Ellender player kneels for the national anthem, joining NFL protests
October 4, 2017

South Lafourche Levee District General Manager Windell Curole doesn’t believe in giving people a false sense of security.

Curole has said on the record multiple times that Lafourche’s levee system isn’t perfect and can be beaten if the right storm hits the area – specifically a large, slow-moving storm that would come ashore somewhere near Morgan City.

So instead of striving for perfection, Curole’s focus over the past several decades has been on progression. And with that focus, he and other leaders in Lafourche Parish have built a massive earthen wall that is widely considered to be the gold standard for hurricane protection in Southeastern Louisiana.


It’s called the ring levee system and it’s a project that’s been several decades in the making for folks in Lafourche.

Curole said it’s not a perfect levee, but so far, at least, it’s been undefeated.

The system has not been topped by any of the tropical events the area has endured in the past several years, holding its own versus Hurricanes Andrew (1992), Lili (2002), Cindy (2005), Katrina (2005), Rita (2005), Gustav (2008), Ike (2008) and Isaac (2012).


“When a storm comes this way, a lot of places say, ‘Well, you know, we have to be lucky to get by this without major flooding,'” Curole said. “We take pride in being somewhat on the other side of the argument. We’ve gotten to where we need to be unlucky to flood. We have to have the right storm hit at the right angle going the right speed at the right time. It’s amazing to think how far this has come and how much dirt has been moved, it’s really a great thing. Our goal has been from the beginning – we just want to protect our people’s homes and businesses. We’re constantly at work trying to do more so that we can stay protected, because we want our system as good as it can be.”

The ring levee has been funded in part by government funds but Lafourche Parish citizens also willingly footed some of the bill via a one-cent sales tax, which has generated millions of dollars toward renovations, maintenance and elevation increases over the years.

The Lafourche system is massive – its highest points extending to close to 20 feet high and several feet wide.


“It can be seen from space,” Curole said.

It’s called a “ring levee” because of its shape.

While most levees are straight-line walls which protect the coast and/or a low-lying area, Lafourche’s system is all-encompassing for the southern portion of the parish.


It starts in southern Golden Meadow and extends northward to Larose, protecting land on both sides of Bayou Lafourche in a giant circle – hence the name “ring levee.”

But it wasn’t always an impressive ring. To get to its current point took quality planning, hundreds of millions of dollars and months and years worth of hard work.

Curole said the process started in the 1960s when local leaders at the time joined with concerned citizens in an effort to boost storm protection.


Lower Lafourche flooded badly for several storms before the system and folks decided that for future community stability, a formal plan needed to be laid into action.

The parish’s levee board started in 1968, but shovels of dirt were not dropped on the new system until 1976 – now 40plus years ago.

But since that time, work has never stopped – thanks in large part to Curole, who got his start with the levee board in the early 1980s.


But a giant scare from a hurricane expedited the process a little, too.

Prior to the current system, Lafourche Parish’s Police Jury had created a wall, which was between three and five feet – enough to endure rain events, but not enough to stop storm surges.

In 1985, Hurricane Juan did $35 million in damage to Lafourche, overtopping all of the parish’s drainage levees. The ring levee project was started at that time, but not completed, which allowed the flood waters to come in.


But none of the levee district’s wall was overtopped, which lessened the damage.

“That was sort-of an eye-opener,” Curole said.

Since that time, more storms have passed through, and each time, the ring levee has gotten bigger and has become a more formidable foe.


In 1992, it endured Hurricane Andrew without issue.

It also has withstood hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike – all without a drop of flood water topping over the system.

Today, the levee is fully enclosed and is massive. It covers more than 48 miles of land (439,000 acres). The system has a universal height of about 16feet on the south end (toward Golden Meadow). On the northern-most end, everything is about 12 feet or more.


The levees are covered with grass, which helps ensure that they are not swept away when a surge hits.

The system is a model for local storm protection – one that Terrebonne and other local parishes have mirrored.

“To look at how far things have come, it’s really remarkable,” Curole said. “We don’t spend much time looking back because we’re always looking forward, but it’s really pretty amazing how this has all come about.”


“Lafourche’s system has sort-of been a model we’ve all wanted to follow,” added Reggie Dupre, the executive director of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District. “The work that they’ve done there is impressive.”

And it’s getting better and larger by the day.

Curole said the levee evolves every, single year, and improvements are done as dollars become available.


The goes along with Curole’s philosophy, which is that no improvement project is ever too small, because even one shovel of dirt atop the levee is more than what it had before – a net-plus toward protection.

“We continue to improve every day – that’s our goal,” Curole said. “Some of the levee has been raised by as much as five feet. We really don’t have any super low areas anymore. We’re better today than we were yesterday and that’s what we strive for.”

Curole said the future looks promising, too, with levee work continuing and coastal restoration dollars from the BP oil spill settlement going toward restoration projects.


But even if dollars weren’t abundant, it wouldn’t matter much to Curole, nor his people. Their motto is and has always been – to keep playing the hand that’s dealt, no matter what it is.

“It’s a chess match,” Curole said. “The name of the game is to be able to hold on long enough to be safe until the wind changes direction and the water retreats. Every piece of dirt helps. Every inch helps. Sometimes the money we’d like isn’t present. But we push forward and do what we can at all times, because every little bit helps – especially when it comes to protecting lives and the people in this area.”

Editorial Note: This story was featured in our 2017 Hurricane Guide. Pick up your copy today at our offices during business hours!


So many areas in Louisiana have storm protection that needs some work. But Lafourche Parish has a ring levee system that’s never been topped by rain water or storm.

FILE PHOTO