Work will commence in the next few days on the Lake Area’s first-ever stormwater detention basin project. Calcasieu Parish Engineering and Public Works Director Allen Wainwright and District 7 Police Juror Chris Landry described the project as “a step in the right direction” for improving drainage. This project will also result in a park-like amenity for the neighborhood.

The CPPJ, along with other parish and city officials, celebrated with a groundbreaking of the Louisiana Avenue Detention Project on Tuesday. The 18-acres east of the “T” of Cherryhill Street and Louisiana Avenue is strategically located near a lateral, the Contraband Bayou. The parish purchased the property in 2015, according to Wainwright. That purchase predates the current CPPJ Master Drainage Plan, but “fits right into the concept.”

The basin will be 935-feet wide, 885-feet long and 13-feet deep. Once completed, it will have the capacity to hold up to 60 million gallons of water. That’s the equivalent of 7-1/2 football fields with one-foot of water covering each.

When the bayou reaches a certain high point during heavy rains, the basin will detain that water until the event has passed and the bayou has receded. The basin will then slowly expel water back into Contraband Bayou until it levels back to 3-feet of water – its permanent pool level.

Houses in the area are in the floodplain, Wainwright said. The basin has the capacity to reduce the effect of certain rain events by as much as 10 percent.

“It will reduce flood elevation by a half-foot,” Wainwright said. “That should have a positive impact on insurance over time since the system is based on risk. “It’s not a cure all, but it’s a great step in the right direction.”

The detention pond won’t just help with drainage, it will also be fashioned into a neighborhood amenity, a landscaped area accessible to the public with benches and a half-mile walking path.

The property is in CCPJ JurorAnthony Bartie’s district. It was in Landry’s from 2000 to 2010, prior to redistricting. Landry said residents said no to a shopping mall and no to an orthopedic center, but no one opposed this drainage project.

“Now, ordinances are in place to make developers responsible for their own water runoff,” Landry said. Neighborhoods are no longer built like this, and short of tearing down houses, property is very limited along the bayou.”

Fayette Victor, for one, is very pleased with the prospect of a project to reduce the impact of flooding in her neighborhood.

“I lost everything in the May 17 flood,” she said.

Helen Curol has been in the neighborhood since 1971. Now that she has finally retired, she can spend a little time “poking the bear” to get things done.

If all goes to plan, the project will be completed in 18 months. Triton Construction was awarded the bid on the $5.8 million project.”