New Orleans -- Personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, held two public meetings Aug. 15 and 16, 2023, first in Slidell and then in Covington, Louisiana, to solicit feedback on the tentatively selected plan (TSP) for the St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Feasibility Study.
According to Amy Dixon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager for the study, the goal of the study is to reduce the severity of flood damages and risk to public health and safety caused by heavy rainfall, riverine flooding, tropical storms and hurricanes.
St. Tammany Parish has experienced repeated widespread flooding from rainfall and riverine bank overtopping, waves, and storm surge, including historic impacts during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and more recently with the flood of August 2016. Hurricane Katrina damaged more than 48,000 residential structures and caused $1.45 billion in damages. These flood events caused major disruptions, damages and economic impacts to St. Tammany Parish.
The study area encompasses all of St. Tammany Parish, which is approximately 1,120 square miles in size and located on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in southeast Louisiana.
The parish is home to more than 258,000 residents. The majority of the parish’s population resides along the edge of Lake Pontchartrain, and many commute into New Orleans with Mandeville, Slidell, and other cities serving as popular home communities. Major communities in the study area include the cities of Slidell, Mandeville, Covington, Abita Springs, Pearl River and Madisonville.
Information for this article was gathered from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District website at: https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/BBA-2018/studies/St-Tammany/