Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drainage Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Drainage division reports high work‑order volume, pushes maintenance strategy to reduce backlog
Summary
The East Ascension drainage division told the board Dec. 9 that a new GIS-based inspection system and targeted area maintenance could reduce a multi-year backlog of drainage work orders; staff reported roughly 1,000–1,183 closed work orders in 2025 and detailed inspection and rotation plans entering 2026.
The East Ascension Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 received a year-end report Dec. 9 outlining the drainage division’s operations, inspection findings and a plan to shift from reactive repairs to area-based maintenance.
“Mister Jade,” the division’s operations presenter, said the report covers Jan. 1 through Nov. 30 and relied on new GIS tools to inspect waterways and culverts. “We pulled it from the January 1 through the November 30. So it does not represent anything in December,” he said.
The report highlighted inspection and workload figures the presenter said will guide next year’s priorities. He told the board the division has inspected about 7,800 bridgeways and “literally over 1,000 culvert crossings,” applying a 1–4 condition rating to identify areas that need work. He described a new process for grouping related work orders so crews can complete 20–40 related items in a single targeted project rather than addressing isolated requests.
On work orders, the presenter cited multiple totals during the presentation: a figure spoken as “11 83 work orders” closed in the drainage division; a later estimate that “I lean more to 1,000 work orders were completed this year;” and other summary references to about 1,100. He told the board the reporting system can consolidate or double-count related tasks and that supervisors recently reviewed and recategorized orders to correct misrouted items.
“The average sinkhole out here takes us 1 to 2 weeks to repair,” he said, noting sinkhole-related work orders have dropped from more than 200 earlier in the year to 89 in the latest counts. He said the district completed 815 work orders entered in 2025 while still carrying a backlog of requests entered in prior years.
Staff also described vegetation management changes: a newly hired assistant director of vegetation has led a rotation approach intended to reduce repeated individual requests and improve efficiency. The presenter said the district completed three vegetation rotations this year and currently has 77 off‑road vegetation work orders on the list.
The presenter closed the report with operational tallies for 2025: 11 recorded pumping events (seven with tractor pumps), 65 after‑hours callouts, and various work‑order totals as noted above. Entering 2026, the division reported 980 open work orders and 2,060 vegetation closeouts in the queue, figures the presenter said staff will use to prioritize winter maintenance.
Board members asked how misclassified work orders were being fixed; the presenter said supervisors spent a full day reclassifying about 300 orders that had been routed incorrectly and that the revised reporting should provide clearer metrics going forward.
The presentation included staff recognition: the presenter praised drainage crew member Benny Bourgeois for work improving sight lines and safety for first responders and school buses.
Board members did not take action on the report but thanked staff for the work and encouraged continued efforts to move the district toward a maintenance-driven approach that reduces recurring requests.
