BOGALUSA - Mike Thompson had three main pieces of advice for the Washington Parish Reservoir Commission last night.
As the man who was involved from the very start in the development of the recently-completed Poverty Point Reservoir in Richland Parish, just off I-20 east of Monroe, he has "been-there, done that" when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of conceiving of a plan to impound a lake, obtaining the necessary funding and permits, and developing the area around the completed reservoir.
 RESERVOIR EXPERT -- Tony Beauboeuf from the Franklinton office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture points out one of the locations that could create a reservoir in the parish if a levee were built across the Bogue Lusa Creek near Plainview. A smaller reservoir above it could be created by a dam across Ben's Creek, and a reservoir above Beauboeuf's head could be created by dams across the Lawrence and Miller creeks east of Franklinton. Beauboeuf stressed to the Washington Parish Reservoir Commission last night that the sites on the map are only some of the possible reservoir sites in the parish, and that much more study of any location would be necessary to determine if the site is even suitable for a reservoir. Advertisement |
— Don't think small: the Poverty Point Reservoir is 3,000 surface acres of water and Thompson says it's too small to accommodate the possible future development in the area that is now envisioned.
— Don't think it'll happen quickly. Poverty Point Reservoir was developed in about 10 years - as fast as anyone has ever developed and constructed so large a reservoir, and environmental rules and funding challenges will almost certainly make the process longer now.
— Don't think it'll be cheap. The way Thompson put it: "All the problems you might incur, you'll solve them. All it takes is money." And, "If you're worried about the zeroes behind those dollar (signs), you don't need to be here."
With those challenges on the table, Thompson told the gathering of 10 commission members and about two dozen guests and parish residents the Washington Parish reservoir proposal is "a great project, it can be better than ours. You've got support, you've got great natural beauty, you've got several possible sites - some parishes have only one or two possible locations.
Thompson made that observation after seeing a map showing nine possible areas of the parish that could have a reservoir if a dam of proper length and height were built across the local creek.
Tony Beauboeuf of the parish's Soil and Water Conservation office discussed the map during the meeting held at the headquarters of Washington Parish Fire Protection District No. 7, west of Bogalusa.
The map, he explained, was a visual aid to go along with a list of possibilities; he stressed that it represented only a cursory study of possible creek sites in the parish, and more study would be necessary for any proposed site.
Indeed, Thompson suggested the commission select three or four possible sites for further study, and to be prepared to spend as much as $750,000 to work up detailed environmental studies for submission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps will then basically tell Washington Parish which site it can have, Thompson said. He added the Vicksburg office of the Corps, which has authority over the watersheds in Washington Parish, is one of the best Corps offices in the country to work with.
Beauboeuf said the initial study of possible sites focused on areas where a dam across a local creek would generate a lake of at least 500 surface-acres of water and have at least four times as much watershed acreage to feed the lake as surface water acreage.
The results: nine possible locations on eight different creeks all over the parish, ranging from 450 up to 3,500 surface acres, behind levees as long as a mile-and-a-half. In discussion with the commission and the audience, Beauboeuf said longer and-or higher dams might expand the surface water acreage of some of the possible sites.
Possible study sites plotted on the map were:
— Silver Creek, west of the Bogue Chitto River and east of Mt. Hermon; 950 surface acres; 2,800-foot levee.
— Gorman Creek, west of the Bogue Chitto River and southwest of Franklinton; 1,35 surface acres; 3,200-foot levee.
— Jamieson Creek, north of Franklinton; 500 surface acres; 2,000-foot levee.
— Lawrence Creek, north of Highway 10 east of Franklinton; 2,150 surface acres; 4,000-foot levee.
— Miller Creek, north of the Lawrence Creek site and southwest and west of Pine; 1,280 surface acres; 3,000-foot levee.
— Bogue Lusa Creek, south of Highway 439 and northwest of Plainview; 3,500 surface acres; 8,800-foot levee.
— Bogue Lusa Creek, south of Highway 439 and northwest of Plainview; 450 acres; 2,400-foot levee.
— Ben's Creek, west of Bogalusa and south of Highway 10; 725 surface acres; 1,800-foot levee.
— Pushepetappa Creek, north of Highway 439 and west of Varnado; 1,700 surface acres; 6,000-foot levee.
After discussion of several factors including possible reservoir size, location and ease of asccess to the various areas, the commission selected four possible reservoir areas for further study and submission to the Corps.
The areas put on the study list because they would produce the largest reservoirs, in no particular order were the Bogue Lusa, Lawrence, Miller and Pushepetappa creek locations.
Thompson has worked in that capacity on the development of another north Louisiana reservoir besides Poverty Point, and he is currently working on a similar project with Allen Parish in central Louisiana.
Progress on all of the above, though, requires money.
State Sen. Jerry Thomas and State Rep. Ben Nevers have secured some "seed money" to get the projected started - a $50,000 initial grant and another $100,000 in the Priority Two level of the state's five-level capital outlay plan. It will take plenty more, Thompson said.
Thomas and Nevers said they will do what they can to secure additional state funding. But because competition for such funding is very high and often uncertain, local funding is necessary to demonstrate to the Legislature area is serious enough to put up its own money.
That, Thompson said, could involve not only contributions from local governments and private sources, but also taxing authority for the reservoir commission. The recent legislative authority for the Allen Parish project includes taxing and even power to seize land that is not willingly sold for the project.
Thompson suggested the legislation that is eventually submitted for Washington parish should include similar powers - though taxes would have to approved by the public and no land expropriation might be necessary if local landowners were happy with the offers they received for their property.
For all of the possible difficulties, reservoir development "is the future of Louisiana" Thompson said.
Industrial plants may close, "but they'll never, ever close that lake" that was built near Delhi - where new homes are being built even before the lake has been opened for public fishing. "It'll always be there."
Comments