Parish flood issues need addressing

Published 12:01 am Friday, July 12, 2013

Thursday afternoon’s rainstorms that dumped water all across the area should serve as a reminder that none of us are in control of the weather.

That’s why the subject of flood control is so critically important, particularly in Concordia Parish, where the land is flat and has historically been flooded by the Mississippi River over and over again.

Thankfully, the complex levee system usually keeps the river at bay, but on the backside of that levee, water still falls from the sky and backs up from creeks, rivers and lakes and must go somewhere.

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The result is flooding that traditionally plagues portions of the parish.

Last year, parish voters sank a measure that would have created a 1-mill drainage tax to begin generating public funds to maintain flood-control structures in the parish.

Despite the voter apathy on the matter, the Concordia Parish Economic and Industrial Development District sees the problem and is trying to build support for plans to actually put some of the drainage projects front and center of the parish’s collective psyche.

The move is a much-needed one, and we’re glad to see someone in the parish stand up and begin to lead on an issue that has long been a problem.