Implementing Better and Smarter Stormwater Management to Keep Communities Flood-Free

Louisiana has had its share of calamities over the years — from strong hurricanes to massive flooding. Throughout these ordeals, the Pelican State remains steadfast, ready to rise anew, and looking forward to a bright future as it rebuilds and improves its cities.

The task of recovering from intense damage to urban areas won’t be possible without the services of civil engineering firms. These specialists are the go-to people of city officials in designing better stormwater management systems aimed to protect cities and avoid future flooding from happening.

Recovering and Rebuilding after Katrina

The devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought in August 2005 caused massive flooding to over 80% of the state, majority of the damage was in residential areas. As total damage reached over $135 billion, a huge portion of government funding was for relief and to help families relocate. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had allotted nearly $15 billion to Louisiana and other gulf states for infrastructure projects to fix roads, bridges, schools and other buildings in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Katrina’s damage made city officials realize what their areas lack in terms of effective sewage systems. As a result, many private firms have been called upon as consultants and project managers, with the vital role of updating canal systems, installing pipelines, building new pumping stations and finding safe ways to channel sewage away from clean bodies of water.

Flood Waters Impair Baton Rouge

Just eleven years after Hurricane Katrina, the cities and parishes in the Creole State once again fell victim to intense rainfall and severe flooding in August 2016. Some 100,000 East Baton Rouge Parish residents were affected, while more than 400,000 people experienced water damage to their homes in the rest of Louisiana.

During this disaster, FEMA also provided public assistance for city officials to get cleanup operations going. Baton Rouge received nearly $1 billion in funding for repairs and rehabilitation of the city’s century-old sewage system. Several engineering firms were also tapped to design and implement the program, which will upgrade millions of linear feet of sewer lines beneath the city. Pump stations and stormwater collection facilities are expected to be put up within the next four years, all in the hopes of keeping Baton Rouge and nearby areas truly flood-free.

To date, civil and structural engineers continue to work closely with local officials in New Orleans and Baton Rouge in rebuilding and upgrading infrastructure, as well as informing residents of how to keep their homes resilient against future flooding.

Sources
10 Companies Netted $480M Worth of Baton Rouge Contracts Last Year,  BusinessReport.com
Sewage Floods Likely to Rise, ScientificAmerican.com
Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts, CNN.com