LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — The Lake Charles city council has approved $3.1 million in improvements to the city's drainage system, which came under heavy pressure in recent years during repeated heavy rains, including two hurricanes.
The city council approved the spending Wednesday, The American Press reported that Some of the money will go to things like using video to inspect the drainage lines and facilitate cleaning them out.
Months earlier, the council approved immediate use for drainage of $3 million that had been set aside for the 2022 fiscal year. The council also approved borrowing $20 million for additional drainage needs.
Mayor Nic Hunter said that while areas that have flooded in the last year and a half will be focused on first, this is really a citywide effort.
“It’s throughout many parts of the city; there’s not one neighborhood or council district that’s being focused on,” Hunter said.
The mayor said the city started cleaning underground drainage lines about three years ago with the goal of cleaning about 8% of the city's lines every year. But then the city found itself in the crosshairs of not one but two hurricanes in 2020 when Laura and then Delta walloped western Louisiana. Those events forced the city to set aside more money for drainage.
Hunter said officials are hopeful that the the Federal Emergency Management Agency will eventually reimburse the city for the expenses. Such reimbursements usually top out at 90% of the money spent, said the mayor.
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