News Article

Gov. Edwards unveils the state's watershed initiative

Date:Aug 15, 2018
Published in:brproud.com

BATON ROUGE, La (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) - Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the launch of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative Wednesday evening.

According to the governor's office, the new endeavor is officially being launched as a continuation of the response to the historic flooding events of March and August 2016.

“In March and August of 2016, Louisiana residents suffered tremendous loss due to flooding events that forced us to rethink how our state approaches floodplain management and acknowledge that the status quo is no longer an option,” said Gov. Edwards.

“The Louisiana Watershed Initiative represents a shift from business as usual in Louisiana and a model for how best-in-class science, engineering, and objective decision-making at a watershed level will form the basis of flood risk management across our state in the years and decades to come.”

Back in May, Gov. Edwards issued Executive Order JBE18-16.

This order created a council for Watershed Management and coordinated all of the statewide Watershed Initiative efforts.

In the coming months, the cooperating agencies that comprise the council on Watershed Management will be introducing a number of efforts aimed at reducing flood risks across Louisiana.