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Atchafalaya Basin group warns Iberia Parish council about sedimentation, lost flood capacity
Summary
Dean Wilson of Atchafalaya Basin Keeper told the Iberia Parish Council the basin is filling, reducing flood conveyance and increasing local flood risk; he urged the council to oppose projects that add sediment and to consider a basin management plan and local resolutions.
Dean Wilson, secretary director of Atchafalaya Basin Keeper, told the Iberia Parish Council on Sept. 24 that sedimentation has significantly reduced the Atchafalaya Basin’s flood conveyance and is increasing flood risk for communities in south-central Louisiana.
"We lost, you know, way over half of the deepwater habitat in the Atchafalaya Basin," Wilson said, describing how levee construction and engineered diversions shifted historic flows and reduced the basin’s ability to move floodwaters. He contrasted the early levees, which he said were about 3 feet, with modern 20-foot structures and said the basin no longer functions as the large outlet it once was.
Wilson illustrated his remarks with maps and lidar imagery and traced how past projects and recent planned diversions could accelerate basin infill. He told the council the group has drafted a basin management plan to halt filling, reconnect levees in ways that can be opened seasonally, and move sediment back toward the coast. He also offered copies of resolutions other parishes had passed opposing certain state diversion projects.
Council members pressed Wilson on the drivers of local flooding and the relative roles of the basin, maintenance of local canals, and upstream runoff. Councilman Marcus Broussard said flooding is ‘‘a myriad of things’’ that include basin capacity, local canals and maintenance; Wilson replied that his point was that filling the basin removes a critical part of future flood protection.
Wilson urged officials to consider formal action. "If you wish, you can take a stand, you know, and pass another resolution," he said, offering to provide sample language.
The council did not take immediate formal action on Wilson’s recommendations but members welcomed the offer of additional materials and noted an upcoming public meeting where Wilson said more technical detail would be presented.
The presentation concluded with a commitment to continued engagement: Wilson said Basin Keeper will hold a public meeting and invited parish officials to attend and review the organization’s proposed management plan.
