Iberia Parish hears Atchafalaya Basin management plan pitch, council asked to back regional coalition

Kimberly Collada, operations manager with Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, told the Iberia Parish Council on Feb. 25 that sedimentation in the Atchafalaya Basin is reducing the basin’s capacity to protect downstream communities and that a proposed management plan should be included in the state’s coastal restoration master plan.

"The management plan has three parts," Collada said. "The first part of the plan, restore the hydrology," she said, describing gates to reconnect meanders and let the basin accept drainage when levels are low. She added that sediment traps and targeted dredging in lateral channels could keep sediment out of bayous and preserve deep lakes. Collada also described a long-distance sediment-transfer pipeline concept to move material to coastal projects that need it.

Collada asked the council to support a resolution to be presented to the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on or before Feb. 28, 2026. The clerk introduced Summary No. 36: "A resolution of the Iberia Parish Council in support of the Atchafalaya Basin Management Plan to be presented to Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on or before 02/28/2026."

Supporters said the basin’s health affects flood protection and coastal resilience across South Central Louisiana. Collada noted parishes already signed on include St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Martin, Iberville and Assumption, and that outreach is ongoing to Terrebonne and others.

The presentation included technical options and trade-offs; Collada emphasized the proposal is conceptual and must be entered into the state master plan to be eligible for funding. No final council vote on the resolution was recorded in the transcript during the public presentation segment; Collada concluded by urging a coalition approach and public engagement.

The council may take up a formal resolution in a subsequent session or committee meeting.