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Pointe Coupee residents demand answers following frequent flooding

7 years 6 months 1 week ago Tuesday, September 13 2016 Sep 13, 2016 September 13, 2016 10:30 PM September 13, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ

NEW ROADS - Pointe Coupee residents are blaming the parish government for frequent flooding in one subdivision. Homeowners in the Pecan Acres area depend on a pump to keep the water out of their homes but it hasn't done the job recently.

Tuesday, residents packed a police jury meeting demanding answers from their elected officials. Many homes in Pecan Acres are gutted and it's a problem Karla Jack says her parents have been dealing with for decades.

"Time and time again they always flood," said Jack.

Some residents don't have anywhere to go. Assistance hasn't come and others have been denied after their flood insurance lapsed. A pump built in 1998 to help prevent flooding didn't seem to work. Maintenance logs obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit show there was a problem with a switch just before the flood last month. 

The repetitive issues have the attention of the governor who toured the damaged area recently.

"I want to do, along with these other jurors, what we can to assist you," said Police Jury President Cornell Dukes.

Residents attending the meeting say they've heard promises before and just want the problems to be fixed.

"We want a resolution where we can live without worrying whether we have to raise our furniture every time there's a hard rain," said Jack.

Parish engineer Cletus Langlois brought up an idea to buy out about 40 homeowners but that was quickly shot down after residents expressed their concerns about leaving. Another solution is raising the levee about six inches.

"This is a temporary fix for right now, this is just so we can fix it now before another event happens," said Langlois.

Down the road, a possibility is elevating homes. Langlois says the next step is to look for a funding source to secure homes damaged more than 50 percent above the base flood elevation.

President Dukes says the jury plans to organize a public meeting soon to address unanswered questions that remain.

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