WALKER — The City of Walker has unveiled its plans to begin the work of cleaning more than 19 miles of drainage ditches in the area, thanks to a cooperative endeavor agreement with Livingston Parish officials and Gravity Drainage District No. 5.
Since the 2016 flood, the City of Walker has worked to identify drainage concerns and develop long-term solutions to reduce the community’s vulnerability to future flooding. Now, more action is underway to create those solutions.
Walker’s Public Works Department maintains around 40 miles of roadside drainage ditches within the City’s jurisdiction, with the exception of state and federal highways, according to a release. Gravity Drainage District No. 5 is responsible for much of the area’s network of backyard and side-yard drainage.
The city’s Public Works Department has already replaced hundreds of defective or too-small driveway culverts and cleaned and re-profiled miles of roadside drainage ditches throughout the Walker community, according to a release. However, the city recognizes that more is necessary to continue to improve drainage infrastructure.
Through a settlement with the state and contractors concerning the Geaux-Wider Project, the City of Walker anticipates construction to begin soon on the improvements to the I-12 center median barrier, which restricted the movement of floodwaters during the August 2016 flood.
In addition, through the Louisiana Watershed Initiative Grant, the community was awarded $8.95 million to make significant drainage improvements.
Because Walker’s drainage networks ultimately carry water southward into an area of Livingston Parish that historically has not had a funded drainage district responsible for maintaining those conveyances, the City of Walker is partnering with others throughout Livingston Parish in addressing these concerns.
In August, the City of Walker partnered with Livingston Parish Government and Gravity Drainage District No. 5 to begin addressing a critical portion of the regional drainage system south of Walker through a cooperative endeavor agreement.
Through this agreement, Walker and these agencies are working now to clean over 19 miles of drainage ditches within an area of Livingston Parish that has not received this level of maintenance for approximately 60 years, according to the City.
This project is an effort to restore the regional drainage system and allow water to better move through the area’s watershed. As this project continues, the City of Walker plans to provide regular updates and photos to illustrate the work being done to better the parish’s drainage and reduce future flooding.
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