HLS 20RS-438 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 63
BY REPRESENTATIVE HODGES
WATERWAYS/RESERVOIRS: Urges and requests the division of administration, office
of community development, to consider funding the Darlington Reservoir
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the division of administration, office of community development, to
3 consider funding the Darlington Reservoir.
4 WHEREAS, during the historic flooding of 2016, particularly in the Baton Rouge
5region, eighty percent of the land that flooded was in high-risk zones; and
6 WHEREAS, of that eighty percent, according to the Federal Emergency Management
7Agency (FEMA), only about a third of the flooded structures were located in those areas;
8and
9 WHEREAS, FEMA viewed this lower percentage as a positive and evidence that
10efforts to reduce flooding in high risk-areas, such as elevating buildings and property buy-
11backs, were working; and
12 WHEREAS, the recent increase and approval of funding for the Amite River
13Diversion Canal has increased the interest in complimentary projects to help prevent future
14massive flooding events such as the one that was experienced in 2016; and
15 WHEREAS, the Darlington Reservoir, a dry reservoir that would only hold water
16when homes are threatened by flood water, which was once at the forefront of flood control
17efforts, is one such project; and
18 WHEREAS, the Darlington Reservoir would dam the Amite River on the St. Helena
19-East Feliciana Parish line, thereby protecting communities situated further downstream
20from increased flooding; and
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HCR NO. 63
1 WHEREAS, projects such as the Darlington Reservoir would have protected
2downstream communities like Watson, Central, and Denham Springs from the massive
3amounts of flood water they received during the 2016 flood of the region; and
4 WHEREAS, a recent report from the director of Dams, Levees, and Reservoir
5Development for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development shows that
6the Darlington Reservoir could have saved thousand of homes from flooding in 2016; and
7 WHEREAS, certain members of management with the United States Army Corps
8of Engineers are investigating the Darlington Reservoir as a possible flood prevention
9option; and
10 WHEREAS, a model run by Dewberry and Associates, using data from the newly
11completed Amite Watershed Numerical Model and applying 2016 storm data, revealed that
12the Darlington Reservoir project could have saved 20,500 homes and resulted in $2.2 billion
13saved from flood damage; and
14 WHEREAS, the study found that water levels as a result of the August 2016 flood
15would have been seven feet lower in the Watson area, six feet lower in the Denham Springs
16area, and between one and a half and seven feet lower in the Central area; and
17 WHEREAS, a project such as the Darlington Reservoir could have saved an untold
18number of lives and property from the vicious flood waters that ravaged the Baton Rouge
19region and surrounding areas during the August flood of 2016.
20 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
21urge and request the division of administration, office of community development, to
22consider funding the Darlington Reservoir to assist with the flood prevention efforts in the
23Baton Rouge region.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
25executive director of the division of administration, office of community development.
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HCR NO. 63
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 63 Original 2020 Regular Session Hodges
Urges and requests the division of administration, office of community development, to
consider funding the Darlington Reservoir to assist with the flood prevention efforts in the
Baton Rouge region.
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