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Amite River Basin Commission lays out 13‑project master plan to cut flood losses in half
Summary
The Amite River Basin Commission presented a basin master plan that bundles 13 physical projects and policy actions — pump stations, sediment removal, detention, and FEMA map updates — that consultants say could cut projected annual flood losses by more than half over the coming decades.
The Amite River Basin Commission presented a master plan that its consultants said combines structural projects and nonstructural actions to reduce the basin’s modeled annual flood losses substantially over time.
Paul Sawyer of the ARBC told legislators the commission’s plan goes beyond the Comite Diversion and includes sediment removal, pump stations, channel improvements and upstream detention. Sam Crampton, the master‑plan project manager, said the plan identified 13 priority projects and recommended updating FEMA flood maps using high‑resolution LIDAR and modern hydrologic modeling. "We have the potential within the entire basin...to remove about 30,000 structures that are inadvertently in the FEMA floodplains based on the old topo data they have," Crampton said.
The presentation tied the master plan to funding from the Louisiana Watershed Initiative and other sources, and estimated current basin losses at about $210 million per year on average under present‑day conditions; without action, modeling to midcentury increased that figure substantially. Crampton said implementing the 13 projects could reduce modeled annualized flood losses by more than 50 percent in scenarios that account for development and changing precipitation.
Legislators and local officials asked how the ARBC will coordinate parish development rules, long‑term maintenance and community rating system improvements that could lower premiums for homeowners. Sawyer said the commission’s board includes the seven parishes and subject‑matter experts and that collaboration on development standards, operations and maintenance and CRS participation are part of the implementation plan.
ARBC asked the legislature and state agencies to continue financial and technical support so the local sponsors can move individual projects from planning to construction.
