Built to Move Water: Inside the $25.4M Mermentau Basin Flood Relief Effort

This will always be home.

So we built something to protect it

when the system can’t convey stormwater flow,

and communities feel it.

The $25.4MM Mermentau Basin Inundation Relief Project addresses that problem

by restoring the system’s ability to move water.

This is a watershed-scale effort to:

1️⃣ Improve hydraulic connectivity along LA Hwy 82, strengthening stormwater conveyance and expanding basin storage

2️⃣ Deliver four new water control structures at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

3️⃣ Rehabilitate and replace the East End Locks in collaboration with HDR, a critical control point within the basin

Together, these elements redirect stormwater, manage flow,

and reduce prolonged inundation during major rainfall events.

Constructed from barges.

Executed in dynamic coastal conditions,

where soil, weather, and water behavior can’t be fully predicted.

Its impact is regional.

Spanning Cameron and Vermilion Parishes,

with benefits extending into Acadia and Jeff Davis.

Water doesn’t recognize political boundaries.

The solution has to move beyond them.

Supported through the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, this project brought together:

‣ Cameron Parish Police Jury

‣ Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

‣ Engineers

‣ Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

‣ State and regional partners

Working together to move water with intention,

protecting the systems people and wildlife depend on.

Because protecting the coast

isn’t just about infrastructure.

It’s about preserving a way of life.