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Residents press jury over flooding as engineers flag $700K–$1M pump backup solutions
Summary
After repeated neighborhood flooding, residents urged the Assumption Parish Police Jury to press DOTD and fund local maintenance. Engineers warned that keeping three 100-hp pumps running during outages would require a very large generator or expensive conversions; the jury authorized outreach to DOTD and smaller maintenance projects.
The Assumption Parish Police Jury heard urgent accounts of home flooding and approved short-term maintenance while weighing costly fixes for pump stations.
At a drainage-committee hearing on Sept. 25, resident Vanessa Newman told jurors her guest house on Cherry Street was flooded repeatedly and urged immediate and long-term action, including system assessments, regular clearing of debris and engineering upgrades. "We are worried that the next heavy rain will cause even more damage or even displace families," Newman said, asking the jury to "allocate funds for regular maintenance and clearing of debris."
Staff said the drainage master plan includes large rehabilitation work and described a proposed maintenance sweep of the South Loop Canal in Ward 2 priced at $15,000. The jury approved that maintenance sweep from Project 92560.
Engineers briefed jurors on the more daunting technical challenge: three existing 100-horsepower pumps at a key station draw large starting power. A consultant told the jury that a generator sized to start and continuously run the pumps would likely be in the 600–750 kilowatt range and could cost in the mid-six figures once transfer switches and fuel storage were included. "You're probably looking at about $700,000 to install a generator system big enough with the transfer switches and everything to run those three pumps," the presenter said.
He offered alternatives: variable-frequency-drive panels to reduce starting currents, or converting the pump drives to right-angle gear drives and fitting each pump with a smaller diesel engine and local fuel tanks — an approach that could lower up‑front generator costs but still requires platform space and fuel logistics.
Jurors weighed gravity-drainage options against pumping fixes. The consultant said gravity solutions were evaluated about 25 years ago and were ruled out because the area is a low bowl that lacks sufficient downhill grade; as a result, effective long-term solutions will likely require a combination of excavated reservoirs, targeted ditch work and pump improvements rather than a simple gravity outlet.
The jury also approved a motion to send a formal letter to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development requesting a meeting with the DOTD engineer to review a recent state project that residents said may have altered local drainage patterns. A juror asked residents to provide photos or video of flood conditions to support the DOTD meeting request.
Next steps: staff will coordinate the DOTD meeting, provide cost estimates for diesel conversion options, and return with more detailed proposals and funding recommendations at a future meeting.
