Planning for Coastal Changes Together

The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan strategically plans restoration and risk reduction projects for the current and future Louisiana coast. This state-wide plan is updated every 6-years and focuses on a 50-year view which “coordinates Louisiana’s local, state, and federal responses to land loss, and potential threats from hurricanes and storm surge events” [2]. The Master Plan was developed by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and models scientific data through different scenarios to determine which projects have priority. CPRA represents the State of Louisiana and contributes 15% of costs for Coastal Wetland Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) projects. Since all CWPPRA projects are partially funded by the state of Louisiana, then all CWPPRA projects must be consistent with the Coastal Master Plan.

The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan is an example for communities around the world who are facing coastal land loss at home. For example there is a recent partnership agreement between the Dutch research institute Deltares and the  Water Institute of the Gulf in Baton Rouge. Therefore both institutions can benefit and contribute to the planning being done to preserve Louisiana coastal wetlands. Other areas facing coastal land loss, like Singapore, Indonesia, and Canada also have an interest in the work being done in Louisiana and the Netherlands [1]. By working together, communities in Louisiana and elsewhere can adapt to and protect changing coasts.

Click here to learn more about Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

Click here to learn about your flood zone in Louisiana.

Sources:

[1] Roberts, Faimon. Louisiana institute, Dutch research group launch partnership to study water issues. Available: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_35247102-635a-11e7-9176-9f60e4fab282.html [July 31, 2018].

[2] The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. Available:http://coastal.la.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017-Coastal-Master-Plan_Web-Book_CFinal-with-Effective-Date-06092017.pdf [July 31, 2018].

The Watershed Flood Center

On May 4, 2018, the University of Louisiana introduced an important new venture: The Watershed Flood Center. [1] In response to massive flooding in August of 2016 in Southern Louisiana, experts will come together to develop a better understanding of flooding in the area. Torrential downpours hit the state consistently on August 12 and 13 of 2016, amounting to more than 31 inches in Watson, LA, and more than 20 inches in Lafayette, the new home base for the Center. Atmospheric conditions caused a series of storms to form and stay over southern Louisiana for those two days, dropping and estimated 2 inches of water per hour. [2] Across the state, an estimated 7.1 trillion gallons of rain came down on August 12^th and 13^th, more than three times the volume Louisiana received during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  The flooding caused an estimated $10-15 billion dollars in damages across the affected parishes, including almost 150,000 homes and businesses. [3] This catastrophe was called a 1-in-1000-year flood because meteorologists attributed a .1% chance to something of this scale happening in any given year based on past events. The Watershed Flood Center seeks to study how much that chance may be increasing with projected changes in atmospheric and climatic conditions.

Basins that will be researched at the new center | Source [1]

Wetlands are adapted to flooded conditions, so they are great for mitigating floodwaters. Mitigation allows water to be stored and released when needed, so they act like a sponge. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of water that came and stayed was too much to redirect into neighboring wetlands. Wetlands used to be more prominent but as towns and cities expand into wetlands, mitigation potential of those wetlands diminishes. Thanks to development and decreased wetland area, much of the flooded area was inundated and impassable for over a week even after the rain had stopped.

The new center at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is far from the only research venture the university funds. ULL has many research centers and partners, including LUMCON, the Ecology Center, and the Informatics Research Institute, to name a few. These centers study many branches of science, including infectious diseases, immersive technologies, ion beams, and soon the list will include the flood-condition hydrology of Louisiana. The Watershed Flood Center is currently in development and, once completed, will study flood events with real-time monitoring to develop better forecasts to protect public interests. [4]

 

[1] https://thecurrentla.com/2018/a-new-flood-research-center-launched-to-put-fractured-regional-efforts-on-the-same-page/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Louisiana_floods

[3] https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/rain-flood-threat-south-mississippi-ohio-valley

[4] https://floodcenter.louisiana.edu/research/projects

Featured image from http://www.theadvocate.com/louisiana_flood_2016/article_dbfba072-7148-11e6-a7b4-0f0b3863c31e.html