CHURCH POINT, La. — Church Point Mayor Ryan "Spanky" Meche announced plans to install a retention pond in Ward 1, stretching from Minnex Alley to East Plaquemine Street.
The town secured a grant for the project after seven years of finding funds, planning, and working to buy land nearby.
"So what this is, this is a big old holding tank for all the rainwater as they come," Meche said.
Many in the area remember the flooding in 2016 that impacted much of Acadiana.
Amelia Carrier, a neighbor who was affected, said the flooding is horrific. The year it flooded, her son had just become a three-piece amputee, making it difficult to evacuate with his oxygen and medicines. Most of the people living in the area were elderly, and elders do not like to leave their homes, she said.
Even without historic rainfall, Carrier said her neighborhood gets flooded out. Now every time the clouds roll in, she wonders if it will happen again.
"When there's a heavy rain, we won't have to worry about where we're going to go or if it's bad enough, 'do we have a place to come back to?'" Carrier said.
Meche said in the next six months, the area will look different. The project is designed to help with the flooding in District 1 and parts of Happy Hill.
The mayor said in the next 90 days, they will be getting the ball rolling, and hopefully, within the year, the pond will be functional.
