Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drainage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident complaint prompts parish review of servitude drainage and planning for pump-station upgrades
Summary
A Fairfield resident described long-running drainage problems in a canal servitude behind his home; parish staff said the servitude is resident-owned but public works will inspect and that larger pump-station work is being scoped to address regional flooding.
A St. Charles Parish resident raised an extended public-comment complaint on April 7 about a blocked, uneven servitude ditch behind his home in the Fairfield area and asked the parish to take action. Parish staff said they would inspect the site and noted larger pump-station work is being scoped that would benefit the neighborhood.
Corey (surname not fully specified in the record) described persistent high grass, access limits that have prevented parish crews from leveling the ditch, and intermittent flooding that leaves standing water for days. He said residents have sometimes maintained the ditch but that conditions have worsened and that previous promises to level the channel had not been completed.
Parish president Matthew Jewell told the speaker that small backyard servitudes are normally the property owner—s responsibility but said staff would follow up because the parish does have access challenges in some areas. Jewell said an ongoing drainage program is scoping a combined Fairfield and Oakland pump station, and Miles from engineering said the larger pump-station project would combine the two existing pump stations into a larger facility to better remove water.
Councilwoman Cindy O'Daniels advised the resident that Planning and Zoning can address tall grass issues on neighboring parcels, and staff agreed to send the parish engineering team to inspect the servitude and evaluate leveling and maintenance needs. The meeting record shows staff promised a follow-up inspection and coordination with planning and public-works staff; no formal council motion was recorded.
The resident was given contact directions to follow up and parish staff said they would evaluate both the local servitude repair needs and the longer-term pump-station scope tied to a state-grant process.
