Staff Reporter

LAPLACE - After struggling with flooding issues for over two years, residents of Garyville may finally begin to see some relief in the way water is drained from the streets of Star Terrace Subdivision.

A collapsed drainage pipe, running underneath train tracks owned by Kansas City Southern Railroad, was finally repaired this past month. Residents had petitioned the railroad, and the council was prepared to sue if action was not taken. “The railroad completed the culvert project without us having to take the issue to court,” said Parish Attorney Jeff Perilloux. “They pledged a better effort to get things done more timely.”

Perilloux said the railroad company had been defiant at first, when residents and council officials petitioned Kansas City Southern two years ago regarding repairs of the pipe.

“They just completely ignored every request we had made on the issue,” said Perilloux.

Perilloux said the railroad changed its tune when media reports surfaced concerning the pending litigation. He said the railroad seemed to quickly succumb to parish demands.

“It really did the parish a favor,” said Perilloux. “The railroad was really willing to work with us after that.”

The culvert is supposed to help water flow down from the Mississippi River bank northwards, toward the lake. When the pipe collapsed under the weight of the railroad tracks, water began to stagnate on the river side of the tracks after major storms, especially in the Star Terrace Subdivision. Councilman Cleveland Farlough, who represents Star Terrace on the council, said the flooding would get so bad that residents would end up being trapped in their homes.

“It could have been a serious problem if residents were forced to evacuate,” said Farlough.

Farlough had been adamantly vocal on the topic of flooding at recent council meetings. He said the railroad repairs are a positive step, but more still has to be done to completely correct the problems in his district, because flooding from recent heavy rains is still a bit of an issue.

“We need to do something about this,” said Farlough. “I'm just trying to get some relief for my constituents who have been wrestling with this for quite some time.”

Farlough said he and other council members are getting together with administration to push for a remedy for all of the parish's flooding concerns. He said a bond issue would probably be floated at an upcoming meeting.