Revived Alexandria to the Gulf study will examine regional flood solutions

This article originally appeared on and was written for the Acadiana Planning Commission by Golden Shovel Agency.

An important project for Acadiana first conceived in the late 1990s is receiving a new focus following the signing of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 into federal law. The act provides for improvements to the rivers and harbors of the United States and for the conservation and development of water and related resources. A landmark Alexandria to the Gulf feasibility study would examine flood mitigation across a multi-parish region encompassing all parishes under the oversight of the Acadiana Planning Commission.

The far-sighted study was first adopted in 1997 in Louisiana – almost two decades before Louisiana encountered two 1,000-year flooding events in 2016, one in Acadiana and one in northeast Louisiana. With the adoption, the state acknowledged a feasibility report needed to be developed in accordance with the Water Resources Reform and Development Act. Goals of the study were to identify alternatives, such as dredging, retention and detention ponds, channel clearing, and control structures to lessen river and coastal flooding. It would also examine excessive rain events.

Joining forces with the Louisiana Watershed Initiative

After the 2016 flooding event in Acadiana, an executive order from Governor John Bel Edwards launched the Louisiana Watershed Initiative in 2018. A $1.2 billion U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant provided flood mitigation funding through the Louisiana Office of Community Development.  The state was divided into multiple watershed regions without considering political or geographical boundaries, but rather science-based hydrological boundaries. The Acadiana Planning Commission is the fiscal agent for LWI Region 5 – officially the Acadiana Watershed District and a political subdivision of the state.

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