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Iberville Parish declares state of emergency ahead of Delta, aqua dams ready to go

3 years 5 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, October 06 2020 Oct 6, 2020 October 06, 2020 4:37 PM October 06, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ

PLAQUEMINE- A state of emergency was declared Tuesday afternoon in Iberville Parish as Delta sets its sights on Louisiana.

Iberville Parish President Mitch Ourso said the state of emergency will open up the door to resources as the hurricane approaches. Meanwhile, parish leaders said aqua dams which serve as a flood control barrier between Iberville and East Baton Rouge Parish are ready.

"We have a contractor on standby to deploy the aqua dams at a moment's notice," Chief Administrative Officer Lucky Songy said. "Depending on what the National Weather Service predicts the rainfall amount to be from the hurricane that's coming. We will make a decision in the next day or so to determine if the aqua dams need to be deployed."

In August, Iberville Parish won a federal lawsuit that was filed by East Baton Rouge to halt them from deploying the aqua dams. Baton Rouge claimed the dams put residents in Baton Rouge at risk for flooding. However, Iberville contended that this was a parish issue and didn't deserve to be in federal court. A judge agreed and the lawsuit was dismissed. East Baton Rouge did not appeal.

"The parish has the authority to use the aqua dams as necessary to protect the citizens of St. Gabriel area from the floodwaters that emanate from EBR Parish during heavy rainfall periods."

Iberville turned around and sued East Baton Rouge Parish, claiming it sustained damages after it tried to protect the citizens of Iberville, but was halted by the City-Parish of East Baton Rouge.

Baton Rouge contends Iberville has failed to provide facts to support those claims.

A hearing is scheduled for October 14.

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