ST. MARY PARISH — Saint Mary Parish Councilman Mark Duhon hopes that upgrading the aging water pumps in Morgan City will significantly improve the city’s ability to handle heavy rainfall and prevent flooding. According to Duhon, the current pumps are outdated and in need of major improvements to better manage stormwater.
“We have a bunch of outdated pumps. They’re old, and this upgrade will bring in some new systems that will help move the water faster,” Duhon explained.
The initiative for the upgrade began following Hurricane Francine, which left significant damage across the area. Duhon called Parish President Sam Jones after the storm and suggested the city have an engineer assess the hurricane debris clogging the canals and ditches.
“After the hurricane, I called Sam Jones and I told him we need an engineer to look at the hurricane debris in our canals and ditches,” Duhon said.
Upon recognizing the extent of the damage and the urgent need for pump upgrades, Jones directed Duhon to GIS Engineering and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) for assistance. Duhon noted he had observed similar efforts in Baton Rouge, where the government cleaned out canals following a major flood.
“Well, I noticed after Baton Rouge flooded a few years ago, they came in there and cleaned out all the canals with debris. So, now, I figured that’s what we had to do here,” Duhon said.
The situation was eventually reported to the Governor’s Office. After some deliberation, Governor Jeff Landry approved the use of Coastal Restoration funding to both clean the canals and upgrade the water pumps. This news was shared at last week's Saint Mary Parish Council meeting by Parish President Jones.
The total cost of the pump upgrade will be between $4.5 and $6 million. GIS Engineering will be handling both the cleaning of the canals and the replacement of the outdated pumps.
Jacob Marcell, the owner of local business Scorpion Subsea, expressed hope that the upgrades will bring peace of mind to the community. Marcell, who has lived in Morgan City his entire life, explained that many of his employees, who live in the area, have experienced severe flooding in the past, leaving them fearful for their homes and businesses.
“A lot of my employees that live in the Morgan City area have experienced a tremendous amount of flooding. They’re so scared and not sure what’s going to happen, so it’s been a problem,” Marcell said.
Despite the challenges, Duhon remains optimistic.
“It’s a work in progress. Some years you get less rain, some years you get more. This year we had one storm, and we’ve got another one coming. Got to fix it while you can,” Duhon said.
Duhon says they’re currently working to determine a projected start date and which pumps will be prioritized for restoration.
