92-year-old St. Amant woman fears home may collapse into canal
ST. AMANT - A 92-year-old woman fears her home may collapse into a nearby canal in Ascension Parish if something isn't done to save her residence soon.
Her family says water being pumped through the waterway is rapidly chipping away at the land, causing the bulkhead to cave in.
Ginger Luquette, the homeowner's daughter, says Ascension Parish promised to maintain the bulkhead, but it's been five years and still no repairs have been made.
The home's water treatment system is located near the bulkhead, and it too has been directly affected by the erosion. The sink takes several hours to drain and the toilets cannot be flushed without overflowing or clogging up.
"It's just really a bother not to be able to flush the toilet everytime you need to," said Mary Bullock, the owner of the home.
Ascension Parish officials say they are not responsible for maintaining the bulkhead because the dredging they did in the past was not performed on the side of the canal next to the home.
However, given the homeowner's age, they have offered to pay up to $50,000 to get the bulkhead fixed. However, finding a contractor willing to do the work hasn't been easy.
Trending News
According to Bill Roux, director of East Ascension Drainage, contractors say it's too much of a liability.
Meanwhile, Bullock's children are constantly at her home cleaning up the water that overflows from her sink, toilet, and washing machine.