Livingston Parish gets federal approval for $20 million Amite River dredging project

The useful part

Livingston Parish received federal approval to move forward on a $20 million dredging project on the Amite River. Years of sediment buildup on the river's bottom and along its banks have made it harder for water to move out of the basin and left some boats grounded on new sandbars. "We're going to dredge the Amite River," said Stephen Avera, government affairs representative for the Livingston Parish president's office.

How it works

• The goal is not to make the river deeper but to restore the existing channel, which officials say is about 15 to 20 feet deep.
• "It's going to clear out the plumbing, if you will, of the lower Amite River where water just can't get out," said Paul Sawyer, chief advisor of the Amite River Basin Commission.
• "You know what's critical, what's very important about flood control, flood risk reduction in the entire Amite River Basin." Avera said the project should go out to bid in about two months.
• "So when this project is done, we will have two viable outlets for floodwater to get out into Lake Maurepas," Sawyer said.

Details worth keeping

Sawyer said floodwater currently has a limited path out of the basin.