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The widespread disaster caused by the Great Floods of 2016 revealed how suseptible Louisiana's landscape is to flooding. Due to the 28 declared flood- and hurricane-related disasters the state has experienced over the past two decades, the state has received almost $20 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds. State and local leaders realized it was time to reevaluate our approach to flood mitigation. In 2018, the state launched the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, introducing a new watershed-based approach to reducing flood risk in Louisiana, guiding by the following principles:
Using scientific tools and data
Enabling transparent, objective decision-making
Maximizing the natural function of floodplains
Establishing regional, watershed-based management of flood risk
Louisiana Watershed Initiative was established via an executive Order. Governed by the Council on Watershed Management, LWI works to reform the state's approach to flood mitigation. LWI hosted dozens of meetings and events to gather input from experts on addressing water management challenges, including representatives from all 64 parishes, state agencies, neighboring states and international authorities on water management.
EO-JBE-2018-16-Watershed-Council.pdf
Coordinating Agencies
Coordinating Agencies
Louisiana Office of Community Development
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Agency
Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
CDBG - MIT Action Plan
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) signed a grant agreement with the state, establishing a $1.2 billion line of credit in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation Funds for flood risk reduction priorities throughout Louisiana.
The CDBG_MIT Action Plan details the state's approach for using the funds, including projects, data collection, modeling and policy measures that advance the Louisiana Watershed Initiative's long-term resilience objectives. The state accepted public comments on the draft Action Plan in fall 2019 and addressed all comments in the final plan submitted to HUD December 23. On February 20, HUD approved the Action Plan.
Regional Capacity Building Grant Program
The Regional Capacity Grant Program (RCGP) is designed to help the state's nine provisional watershed regions build staff capacity for regional watershed management, as well as provide technical assistance to municipal partners throughout each region. The goal of the program is to support strong and effective governance for each watershed region and ensure each region operates in a way that maximizes flood risk reduction efforts and project funds as they become available.
In Region 3, Ouachita Parish Police Jury serves as the fiscal agent for the RCBGP.
LWI-Overview-One-Pager_9-15-21.pdfLWI Overview
LWI Overview
LWI-ToolkitResources_RCBG_One-Pager_9-15-21.pdfRegional Capacity Building Grant Program
Regional Capacity Building Grant Program
LWI-ToolkitResources_Modeling_One-Pager_9-8-21.pdfWatershed Monitoring, Mapping and Modeling Program
Watershed Monitoring, Mapping and Modeling Program
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