By John Summers | WBR Independent March 10, 2026

Parish crews patrolled drainage infrastructure following the heavy rain event Saturday, March 7. The storm dropped 11.28 inches on Port Allen and 7.60 inches on Brusly.

Crews reported finding a full-size garbage can and a wooden pallet lodged inside drainage culverts, obstructing water flow. Both were removed.

Parish President Jason Manola and the parish's in-house engineering team convened Monday, March 9, to review conditions and outline a response. The parish published a summary Tuesday describing the meeting, storm response, and possible drainage solutions.

But parish council records show that at least part of this work predates Saturday's storm — leaving unanswered questions about project progress, spending, and timelines.

What the Parish Is Proposing

According to information released by the parish, immediate measures discussed include cleaning debris from bridges and culverts during storm events to prevent materials from washing downstream, and up-sizing relief overflow culverts that temporarily displace water from the Coulee Canal into underdeveloped areas.

Longer-term, the parish says it is studying three potential projects:

• A ditch diversion routing water from St. Francis Street through Lukeville Lane into the Stonewall Canal, which flows to the Intracoastal Waterway. The parish says an independent engineering firm is currently modeling the project.
• A retention pond near the Lukeville Sewer location to slow water from the Borruano Ditch before it reaches the Coulee Canal.
• Possible diversion canal sites connecting the Coulee Canal directly to the Intracoastal Waterway.

The parish released no cost estimates and no implementation timeline for any of the three projects.

The Study Was Already Happening

The release does not mention that study work in the Lukeville Lane corridor had already been discussed publicly months earlier.

At the West Baton Rouge Parish Council meeting in July 2025, parish officials confirmed that Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC) had been contracted to conduct a comprehensive drainage study covering the Lukeville Lane and Choctaw Basin Drainage Canal area. At that time, Phase 1 — the drainage mapping — had already been completed.

By the parish's own October 2025 budget hearing, the Choctaw Loop/Lukeville study had expanded in scope beyond its original $100,000 budget. At that same hearing, Parish President Manola reported he had personally met with PEC and Drainage Superintendent Chad Doiron to explore redirecting stormwater in the Lukeville area into the Stonewall Canal — the same general concept described in Tuesday's release. Public Works Director Brandon Bourgoyne was tasked with developing a comprehensive scope for a full parish drainage analysis.

The parish also had two additional drainage studies funded and underway as of the October budget: a South End study covering the Addis area, and a North End study with $70,000 rolling over from 2025.

That was all documented five months ago.

Saturday's storm may have added urgency to projects already under discussion, but Tuesday's release does not explain how the event changed the scope, timeline, or priority of that work.

Funding Questions Remain

Voters have already approved renewal of the parish drainage tax.

Yet despite an active engineering contract, a completed mapping phase, and a voter-renewed drainage tax, Tuesday's release did not include cost estimates, project timelines, or measurable next steps for the drainage proposals it described.

For residents already paying into a renewed drainage tax, those omissions leave key questions unanswered about progress, spending, and next steps.

Questions for the Parish

WBR Independent will submit the following questions to Parish President Jason Manola and parish PIO Madison Cacioppo. Any response will be added to this story or addressed in follow-up coverage.

• What is the current status of the PEC drainage study covering Lukeville Lane and the Choctaw Basin Drainage Canal area? Has Phase 2 design work begun?
• What has been spent from the parish drainage fund in the past three fiscal years, and what capital improvements have been completed?
• Is the "independent engineering firm" referenced in Tuesday's release the same firm — PEC — already under contract, or a separate engagement?
• Is there a scheduled maintenance inspection program for parish drainage culverts, or are obstructions only discovered during storm response?
• What is the estimated cost of the proposed long-term projects, and does the renewed drainage tax fund them?

No dedicated public meeting or presentation on the post-storm findings has been announced, though the West Baton Rouge Parish Council meets Thursday.

WBR Independent will continue to track this story. Submit drainage concerns or tips to editor@wbrindependent.com.