BATON ROUGE- Drainage and flooding continue to be concerns for residents of East Baton Rouge Parish, and with hurricane season amplifying the fear, the flood risk reduction project is trying to reduce the anxiety.

After a hurricane season that left devastation across the state, many worry that heavy rainfall could lead to severe flooding if debris is not cleared from waterways. 

Fred Raiford, the Drainage and Transportation Director for the parish says he understands their fears, and says the City-Parish is working as fast as possible to ease them. 

"Sometimes it takes longer than we want it to be, but I can assure you, our goal is to move forward as quickly as possible," Raiford said. 

Construction has already started for some waterways. Raiford says 20,000 cubic yards of debris have been removed from Bayou Manchac. 

"Places in our parish that we know have had problems for years, things have gotten much better," Raiford said. 

He hopes to start removing debris in Clay Cut Bayou this summer. 

Raiford wishes he could go faster, but is asking for everyone to remain patient.

"The city is doing everything we can possible do to expedite the process as much as we can and follow the rules to try and get the projects out as quickly as possible," Raiford said.

He says the improvements to waterways will be worth the wait. 

"I ask people to be a little patient, but I ultimately think we will get where we need to be and the quality of life will be much better," Raiford said 

Raiford says some projects may take longer than others because of rules related to federal funding.