BATON ROUGE- It seemed to be a no-brainer for the East Baton Rouge Metro Council last Wednesday as they signed off on $1.8 million for channel clearing projects in East Baton Rouge Parish.

"Some of these projects are going to cost a little more, but in reality, it's accomplishing exactly what we want to do," Fred Raiford, Director of Drainage and Transportation told WBRZ.

The City-Parish tells WBRZ the project will aim to clear Claycut Bayou and continue the work on Ward Creek and the Comite River. The increased funds will hopefully accelerate the projects as well.

The goal is to remove large tree stumps and branches out of the water for better drainage and less flooding.

But Raiford says this work won't be a complete solution to the flooding problem.

"I don't want anyone to think once we fix this, we aren't going to flood again. It reduces flood risk," Raiford said.

The City-Parish says they have already removed 4,280 tons of debris from the Comite River, including 40 tires.