New Iberia officials detail detention pond plan as residents describe repeated street flooding

A public hearing at the New Iberia City Council meeting focused on a planned detention pond to relieve chronic street flooding in parts of the city, and residents urged faster corrective work as some homes continue to flood after short thunderstorms.

Blaise Talbot, a Russo Street resident, told the council that local streets have begun to flood “on a regular thunderstorm day” and described recent damage to neighbors’ homes. “If we get a hurricane, we’re done,” Talbot said, adding that a nearby street’s standing water had recently crested between cars.

Mayor (spoke without a full name in the transcript) summarized the detention-pond project and permitting status. “This has been going on for a while,” the mayor said, describing the site as the property “on Monterrey” where the Echo Drive-In once stood. The mayor said the city bought the property and secured a grant that helps fund both the pond and other drainage work, and that the project is awaiting a court permit. “We’ve been waiting for 7 months for the [corps] permit,” the mayor said; once the permit is received the project can go out for bid and is estimated to take about 10 to 12 months to complete.

Council members and staff described the pond as expected to benefit the Acadian Acres area and to reduce some overflow into Summerfield, though officials cautioned Summerfield’s problems are broader than a single detention pond. The mayor said the city has hired engineers and spent roughly $60,000 on engineering work for the site; the council also approved a later resolution to cover an engineering overage tied to the Acadian Acres detention-pond project.

Residents and council members pressed for interim actions while the major project awaits permitting. City staff noted some ditches and canals have been cleaned “up to the city line” and that responsibility for some ditches is unclear because a homeowners association named in the original plat is now defunct. The mayor said staff and engineers have been coordinating with parish public-works personnel to trace flow paths and find obstructions.

The city framed the detention pond as one piece of a larger response: officials are combining grant funds, city drainage money and targeted public-works work where feasible. The mayor said state and other grants are being pursued and that federal/state assistance has been requested to expedite permitting. He also told residents the city must balance rapid fixes with engineering review so short-term work does more good than harm.

Council members said residents should continue to report clogged drains or new flooding incidents so compliance and public-works staff can follow up between scheduled inspections. The mayor and staff encouraged residents to stay in touch with the permit and public-works teams for case-specific updates.

Questions about timing, right-of-way access and cost-sharing were left partly unresolved; the mayor said more detailed bid packages and timeline estimates would follow after the corps permit arrives and engineers finish a hydrology analysis.

Ending: The public hearing closed after testimony and council discussion. Council members later approved a resolution (agenda item 5b/25-67) authorizing an overage for the Acadian Acres detention-pond project; funding and formal procurement steps were described as contingent on the outstanding permit and the procurement rules the city must follow.