ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 63
BY REPRESENTATIVES HODGES AND MINCEY
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the division of administration, office of community development, to
consider funding the Darlington Reservoir.
WHEREAS, during the historic flooding of 2016, particularly in the Baton Rouge
region, eighty percent of the land that flooded was in high-risk zones; and
WHEREAS, of that eighty percent, according to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), only about a third of the flooded structures were located in those areas;
and
WHEREAS, FEMA viewed this lower percentage as a positive and evidence that
efforts to reduce flooding in high risk-areas, such as elevating buildings and property buy-
backs, were working; and
WHEREAS, the recent increase and approval of funding for the Amite River
Diversion Canal has increased the interest in complimentary projects to help prevent future
massive flooding events such as the one that was experienced in 2016; and
WHEREAS, the Darlington Reservoir, a dry reservoir that would only hold water
when homes are threatened by flood water, which was once at the forefront of flood control
efforts, is one such project; and
WHEREAS, the Darlington Reservoir would dam the Amite River on the St. Helena-
East Feliciana Parish line, thereby protecting communities situated further downstream from
increased flooding; and
WHEREAS, projects such as the Darlington Reservoir would have protected
downstream communities like Watson, Central, and Denham Springs from the massive
amounts of flood water they received during the 2016 flood of the region; and
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WHEREAS, a recent report from the director of Dams, Levees, and Reservoir
Development for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development shows that
the Darlington Reservoir could have saved thousand of homes from flooding in 2016; and
WHEREAS, certain members of management with the United States Army Corps
of Engineers are investigating the Darlington Reservoir as a possible flood prevention
option; and
WHEREAS, a model run by Dewberry and Associates, using data from the newly
completed Amite Watershed Numerical Model and applying 2016 storm data, revealed that
the Darlington Reservoir project could have saved 20,500 homes and resulted in $2.2 billion
saved from flood damage; and
WHEREAS, the study found that water levels as a result of the August 2016 flood
would have been seven feet lower in the Watson area, six feet lower in the Denham Springs
area, and between one and a half and seven feet lower in the Central area; and
WHEREAS, a project such as the Darlington Reservoir could have saved an untold
number of lives and property from the vicious flood waters that ravaged the Baton Rouge
region and surrounding areas during the August flood of 2016.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request 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.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
executive director of the division of administration, office of community development.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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