As part of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative’s (LWI) first round of funding for local and regional projects, the state is awarding $749,000 to fund a floodwall for the Coushatta Casino Resort wastewater treatment plant in Watershed Region 4, which includes southwest Louisiana. This project will construct a floodwall to help reduce flood risk in the area.
“We are delighted to hear the Coushatta Casino Resort was approved for an LWI grant for the Waste Water Treatment Plant. This area floods so easily, and when it does, the plant has to be shut down,” said Gardner Rose, director of Natural Resources for the Coushatta Tribe. “The construction of the floodwall will help mitigate flooding so we can keep this plant in operation.”
In a press release, it was explained a floodwall would be constructed at the resort’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. “This award will provide the necessary funds to prevent flood waters from inundating the casino’s wastewater treatment plant, thereby protecting it from damage and reducing the financial impact on the Casino when future flooding occurs in the area.
In total, the state announced approximately $60 million in statewide projects Thursday through the Watershed Projects Grant Program: Local and Regional – Round 1, which is part of the state’s Action Plan to spend $1.2 billion in federal mitigation funds. The goal is to fund low-risk, high-impact projects that can immediately reduce regional flood risk and improve the natural functions of floodplains without adversely impacting surrounding communities.
Participating state agencies of the LWI Council on Watershed Management scored and awarded projects through a competitive process based on publicly shared and reviewed evaluation and scoring criteria and program policies and procedures.
Round one projects that were not awarded funding this week will move on to the regional selection process. As part of this process, each region could have selected up to $5 million in eligible projects to recommend for funding this summer.
The Oakdale Journal was unable to reach Chairman David Sickey to discuss questions on the start of the project and other information.
About Louisiana Watershed Initiative: LWI’s goal is to reduce statewide flood risk through a coordinated, regional, watershed-based approach. The state has designated eight provisional watershed regions to facilitate collaboration, coordinate watershed management among parishes and align project funding with regional flood risk priorities.
For more details on round one projects, click here. To learn more about LWI, visit watershed.la.gov.