ABITA SPRINGS, La. (WGNO) — Residents in Abita Springs can finally breathe a sigh of relief following heavy rain, which caused major flooding.
According to Stewart Eastman, this is a common occurrence in the area. He mentions that one of the main places to suffer is the local park, which is still underwater.
“That does flood almost every time and makes it almost impossible to maintain. The town is hoping to move it, but that’s a lot of money,” said Eastman.
Yet, with the town trying to build economically, he fears development could increase flooding in the area.
“If you have trees or grass in that area, that does absorb water. So, the more you build, the more runoff there is. More buildings and business are just going to make the flooding worse,” said Eastman.
“This plot was completely underwater. This creek here rises, not so much from the river but the creek right here,” said Abita Springs resident Kate Dessommes.
Dessommes recalled seeing how the rain impacted the creek near her home. She remembers the time flood water almost got into her home.
“The worst time it flooded, it went all the way up to the bottom of my back steps. The whole yard it was. We were on the national news,” said Dessommes.
However, she still believes the town has a great drainage system in place and heavy rainfall can have a major impact on a lot of places, no matter what.
“Only when there is tremendous rain like it was pouring buckets. I think they do a pretty good job, and the water doesn’t get contaminated,” said Dessommes.
Mayor Dan Curtis tells WGNO they are working on building a detention pond to help with the drainage during big flooding events like this one.
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