Quick News

Barataria Feasibility Study Begins

In February, the New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources signed the Coast 2050 Feasibility Cost Share, paving the way for a $6 million study of the Barataria Basin. According to Jack Caldwell, DNR secretary, the study will lay the foundation for pursuing funding resources outside the Breaux Act.

The Barataria Basin was selected be-cause it is currently experiencing the most rapid land loss of any coastal area in Louisiana — almost 11 square miles annually. The study will focus on marsh creation, barrier island restoration and river diversion strategies.

Waste Not, Want Not

Staff at the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP) has come up with an interesting idea — pump storm-water runoff into nearby wetlands. Most storm water is currently pumped into man-made canals, wasting potential nutrients and sediments that could benefit wetlands. Redirecting the output of drainage systems throughout the estuary could improve the condition, or at least slow the degradation, of nearby marsh.

To that end, BTNEP, the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government and the Gulf of Mexico program are encouraging the construction of a pump station near the Point-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area. The pump would re-direct water currently pumped into Bayou Terrebonne and send it into more than 22,000 acres of nearby brackish and saline marsh. If successful, the station could be used as a model for construction of similar stations throughout the estuary.