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Parish offers 'no comment' to eroding drainage ditch issue in Prairieville

2 years 11 months 2 days ago Thursday, April 15 2021 Apr 15, 2021 April 15, 2021 6:29 PM April 15, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

PRAIRIEVILLE - All the rain this week is making one big problem worse in Ascension Parish. A huge drainage ditch outside a house in Prairieville is swallowing up property and with nowhere else to turn, he called 2 On Your Side.

Milton Clouatre just wants his problem fixed. But, at least for now, it doesn't sound like he's going to get help at the parish level.

"This is uncalled for. It's ugly and it's dangerous," Clouatre said.

The Oak Grove neighborhood in Prairieville has turned into quite the entrance. All the water from the surrounding streets flows right to the corner of West Swamp Road and Shadow Lane. But Clouatre says something's not working right, and it's causing the land around the drain to erode.

"It's fixing to take the subdivision sign down. It's fixing to take the utilities down," he said.

Clouatre has been trying for years to get something done and says he's has had multiple conversations with Ascension Parish about it, but nothing's been done.

"It's off-street drainage, and the parish is supposed to maintain it," he said. "I have met with the parish on numerous occasions."

When Clouatre first moved into his house right next to the ditch in 2004, he says it didn't look the way it does today. The drainage area was only about two feet wide and it was well-maintained. Time has taken its toll.

When 2 On Your Side reached out to Ascension Parish about Clouatre's concerns, the parish said it had "no comment on this issue."

"They don't want to address it. Now why, I don't know," Clouatre said.

With an engineering background, Clouatre says he's drawn up a solution that would involve laying drainage pipe down. Clouatre even says he would help maintain the area. Instead, the unanswered questions have caused a great deal of stress for him.

"All I'm asking is let's work together as a citizen of this parish, as a resident of this parish. Let's work together and get this ditch fixed," he said.

Thursday, 2 On Your Side followed up with the parish and asked if it had no comment, what Clouatre should do instead. There was no response.

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