Last week’s heavy rain reminds city of risk

When 7.5 inches of rain fell on St. Martinville over a four hour period last Wednesday afternoon, drainage work done since last August got a sobering test.
Some alarmed residents came to the Nov. 4 city council meeting to voice concerns about slow run-off. While no destructive flooding was reported, it was clear that ditch-clearing efforts cannot solve the problem of undersized storm water conduits.
A resident on St. Ann Street in south St. Martinville’s Ledoux area told the council she became very worried the water would reach her home. At least part of the problem, she contends, is that the crew clearing the ditches in her neighborhood did not fully complete the job.
A choke point was left that caused water to pool in her yard much worse than it has in the past, she said. Public Works superintendant Kirk Lasseigne said crews would return to try and remedy the problem.
Dist. 5 councilman Edmond Joseph requested that ditch and culvert cleaning in the Ledoux neighborhood be given higher priority in light of the issues uncovered by last week’s rain. Dist. 2 representative Craig Prosper said much of the problem that plagues the Ledoux area is not with the ditches.
The 50-year-old drainage piping in that part of town is undersized. The huge undertaking needed to replace it is beyond the ability of St. Martinville’s budget and will require grant funding, Prosper said.
Mayor Thomas Nelson said water drained off quickly once the rain stopped, but rainfall levels that high are likely to be problematic well into the future.
Prosper added, “Clearing the ditches can have both a good and bad side. Water that runs off faster drains to the low areas faster.”
The downpour also made sections of Main Street immediately north of Bridge Street, several blocks of Port Street west of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and East Bridge Street from Bayou Teche to The Ville convenience store nearly impassable.
Nelson pointed out that the real risk comes when rain falls north of us and the Vermilion River and Bayou Teche rise. Then, drainage canals empty more slowly. “There is not much that can be done about that in the short term,” he said.