With recent storms come renewed concerns about drainage in Youngsville, especially the maintenance of the Anselm Coulee.
On Friday, Mayor Ken Ritter posted to his Facebook page that residents who called Lafayette Consolidated Government about cleaning out the coulee were told that it’s Youngsville’s responsibility despite an agreement between Youngsville and LCG that was signed last fall.
Youngsville residents E.J. And Lucille Broussard want answers.
The Broussards are 80 and 81-years-old, and they have been living in Youngsville for the last 11 years. They say they’ve been dealing with the flooding from the coulee behind their home since they moved in
“Right now, the grass and the trash that gets inside retains the water. It doesn’t take much at all. Like the rain this morning, it was not necessarily a heavy rain; it was up to the back, and it was ready to crest over,” Broussard said.
Their home flooded in 2016. They say 14.5 inches of water got into their home, and they believe the coulee is to blame.
“This is uncalled for. My belief is it could be corrected. Not could… it has to be corrected,” Broussard explained.
He contacted LCG on Friday and was told the issue belonged to the city. That contradicts what Mayor-President Joel Robideaux said in October when he agreed with Ritter that the parish was responsible for the coulees’ upkeep.
“He called in to question some language that he felt put more burden on the City of Youngsville than the current law places on the City of Youngsville. When I looked at it, I tended to agree with him, and he was gracious not to say, ‘I told you so,'” Robideaux said in October.
“Somebody has to do something about it and none of this passing the ball back and forth, you know? No, it’s yours. Take it. The ball is in your court,” Broussard explained.
KATC reached out to LCG for comment on the issue. A spokesperson said she was trying to find someone to speak on the issue.
