St. Tammany wins approval for $6 billion flood mitigation project
MANDEVILLE, La. (WVUE) - At Wednesday’s (Jan 15) St. Tammany Levee Drainage and Conservation meeting, Parish President Mike Cooper announced that the $5.9 billion Flood Risk Management project authorized under the 2024 Water Resources Development Act.
“It’s the largest single investment in flood risk in Louisiana’s history,” Cooper said.
The authorization allows the Army Corps of Engineers to do preliminary studies and work on the proposed projects like levees, a 3.5-mile floodwall in Slidell, eight new pump stations and more.
“It provides 18 miles of levees and that’s significant for Slidell, and in addition, there is a parish-wide initiative that will raise nearly six thousand structures,” VP of MSMM Engineering Mark Wingate said.
Wingate says Congressman Steve Scalise requested $3.25 million from the federal government, which will likely be spent on preliminary designs and studies.
Engineer firms say nothing is finalized with the project, and the entire process, from planning to com…